


A Certain Cats Journey

by ForTheLoveOfApplePi



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: A Little OOC I'm Sorry, Akaashi Keiji & Kozume Kenma Friendship, Bokuaka - Freeform, Eventual Smut, Fantasy AU, Fluff, Fluffy Ending, Hinata Shouyou & Kozume Kenma Friendship, Kenma Is A Smart And Smol Boy, KuroKen - Freeform, M/M, Minor Hinata Shouyou/Kageyama Tobio, Non-Graphic Violence, POV Kozume Kenma, Palace, Romance, Slow Build, Strangers to Lovers, angst I guess?, haikyuu!! - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-08-05
Updated: 2017-01-27
Packaged: 2018-07-29 13:12:14
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 54,477
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7685857
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ForTheLoveOfApplePi/pseuds/ForTheLoveOfApplePi
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Kenma is a normal errand boy, until one day he's not. When the king of his country is murdered and everyone thinks he did it he is suddenly whisked away to his birthplace. There he meets a certain cat like messy black haired king and finds his proper place as well as the love of his life.<br/> <br/>(Or: Kenma's observant, Kuroo's smart, and together they make a pretty good team.)</p><p>Holy crap i'm terrible at summaries. Please don't mind it.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hey! So this is my first multi chapter fic, and I hope you all come along with me on this ride! 
> 
> This chapter is more fast paced than I wanted, but I was so exited to post it that I couldn't wait any longer! 
> 
> Anyways please enjoy ^.^!!!

Kenma had never been a person that necessarily stood out. 

He was always part of the backdrop. You could find him doing his chores or in some dark corner toying with one of his puzzles. Not that anyone ever went out of their way to look for him. 

Kenma didn’t mind. In fact his lack of a presence was almost a blessing. No one ever bothered him, and while he couldn’t say he had any friends, no one hated him. For the most part people just ignored him. But he couldn’t complain. In the palace he worked in, there was constant noise. There were always important men talking about important things, high class women talking about petty things, and the maids would gossip about whatever they deemed “juicy” enough to talk about. 

Kenma wasn’t anyone important, but he wasn’t exactly unimportant. He was a simple errand boy, a favor runner. He did whatever he was needed to do and was pretty good at it.

Living your whole life as one helped.

Kenma had been here since he was born, and for 17 years he had done the same routine. Wake up at 5am, wash himself and dress by 5:30, be down to the servants quarters and finish his breakfast by 6:00 finish any tasks he had put off from the day before by 7:00 and then his new day would start. He would usually finish all of his normal chores at noon, then he would have a quick lunch and get back to work by 12:10. His favors would usually be done by around 11:00pm. He would eat dinner, bathe, play a little with his puzzles before heading off to bed just to do the same thing the next day. 

However, he couldn’t say he was the busiest person in the palace. In fact it was such a slow day today that he had been doing his puzzles for the past 10 minutes completely uninterrupted. He knew that the blizzards get pretty bad around this time of year, so he expected to not be needed as much. He used to get called to help shovel snow out of the roads, but after 30 minutes of almost useless shoveling and 3 colds, the palace had thought it better for him to help the people inside.

Kenma lived very far in the north. So far in fact that he had never actually seen anything except snow in his whole life. He had heard from traveling businessman that apparently this wasn’t the state of the whole world. In fact most of the whole world was covered in a green substance they had called “grass.” Kenma thought it an odd concept, to see anything on the ground besides the white of snow and ice and the brown of dirt. He would very much like to see it someday.

The palace was made completely of gray stone, which, while not the best for insulation, couldn’t be made from wood as it would burn down from the multitude of fires they had raging to keep any semblance of heat.

Like most people in the city, he has had to dye his hair a lighter shade to blend in with his surroundings since he was young. The town had lost too many people in the past for simply standing out against the pure snow, attracting all the beasts that hunted in the wild. Everyone in the small country were only permitted to wear grey robes. No one was allowed to wear anything that could interest unwelcome guests.  
Kenma was sitting on the ground of some hallway, half paying attention to his game and letting his thoughts flitter about. He had to make sure to wash his clothes tonight, oh and he needed to sew up that whole that he had found in his blanket that morning, he thought about what dinner would be, he thought about any trivial thing really.

Kenma glanced up when he heard people coming around the corner. He saw one of the palace workers, an old man, walking with a dark haired boy who appeared to be around his age. Kenma could tell that this man was important as he held an air around him, the kind of confidence that most people with a purpose carried. The mans eyes roamed every corner of the room, and Kenma could tell he wasn’t jut gazing, this man was mapping the hall, was taking in every lantern and every crack in the foundation as if he were a prisoner seeking his escape route. When his eyes landed on the crouching Kenma his eyes softened if only for a moment. Kenma was confused, he was a servant and had never received more than a passive glance before. The mans gaze lasted on him little longer when Kenma noticed his hand twitch toward the sleeve of his robes. 

Kenma’s gaze flickered to this movement before coming back up to rest on the mans face. The raven seemed to notice this and slowly relaxed his fingers before returning his gaze to his surroundings. 

They passed by him, the old man happily chatting about how nice it was to have the important man as a guest, and how he hoped everything would be to his liking.

As they rounded the corner Kenma’s eyes fell back to his puzzle. He found the man rather odd. His gaze hadn’t seemed pompous or arrogant like the other nobles he’d seen before. He had had a calm, almost uninterested atmosphere around him, like he wasn’t exactly happy to be in the palace, yet didn’t have a problem staying. Kenma found himself slightly intrigued, the man was a bit different to the people he had encountered in this dreary land. He wished he could see him again. 

When some random noblewoman turned the corner some time after and started screaming at Kenma to find her husband, he hurriedly put his puzzle away and rushed to get back to work.

~ ~ ~

Kenma was exhausted. He hated getting tired and that was exactly what he was after finding himself suddenly swamped with favors. They all required him to hurry through the castle searching rooms and hurriedly delivering packages and letters to one another. One man had told him to give a rush message to his wife asking when dinner would be ready. 

When he was asked to deliver a letter to a shop in town he sighed. Kenma hated doing favors in the town. It just meant he had to put on his outside clothing and run around that much more space, not to mention how god awfully cold it was outside. 

He was panting when he finally made his delivery, and walked slowly back to the castle to catch his breath. He reveled in the dark sky, knowing that he could now finally end his chaotic day. Making his way back to the warmth of the palace he was ready to hurriedly climb in the bath and soak his aching muscles. 

The guards to the castle looked up when they heard him approaching. He flashed them his favor badge, showing that he indeed worked in the castle and was welcome to come in. When they nodded their heads and made room for him to pass he did so hurriedly. The door to enter was so close and he could feel the heat radiating out of it.

Kicking off his outdoor shoes and hanging his fur coat on the rack he made his way through the servants quarters. 

He stopped hen he saw a figure in the middle of the corridor looking around. He recognized him as the dark haired man from earlier and quietly walked up to him.

“Umm…do you need help sir?”

The man turned around and Kenma saw something like surprise and then a fleeting pleased look flash in his grey orbs before he fixed them and they were suddenly calm again.

“It seems like I have become lost, would you mind talking me to the meeting rooms of the kings nights?”

“Of course….”

The man slightly smiled. “Akaashi.”

“Ah…this way please Akaashi-sama”

“Please, just Akaashi is fine.” 

Kenma hummed in response and started making his way in the direction of the knights. He could feel Akaashi’s eyes on him as they walked, could feel him studying Kenma. The blonde only shrugged his shoulders a little and continued on. They traveled in silence, but it was a comfortable one. Kenma couldn’t really tell why he felt so at ease with Akaashi, but he did. It was nice to be in someones presence without all the mindless chattering that was so common.

Kenma watched Akaashi as they walked. He noticed that Akaashi would continue to walk ahead a little whenever Kenma would slow down. Unlike in the servants quarters when he looked absolutely lost, he seemed oddly aware now, almost as if he knew where he was going the whole time…

“We’re here.” Kenma stated as they rounded a corner to a large door. There were bustling soldiers all around as this was their main room of operations. Kenma had never liked interacting with the soldiers. They were all trying to one up another, trying to make it up the ranks and they didn’t care who they left in their wake. Kenma didn’t want to be one of those stepping stools. While he wasn’t high in rank by any means, as an favor runner he did know quite a lot of information. 

Of course this information mostly consisted of petty things, such as who's taken more food than rationed and the odd message about some doctors notes, but sometimes he was trusted to deliver am important piece of information. This had led to some questionable encounters with the low ranking soldiers, who tried to get him to tell them anything they could use to get to a more powerful position. Kenma tried to stay away from these men though. He just wanted to live a quiet, peaceful life, as long as he had is puzzles he was fine.

When they reached the large door Kenma stepped back.

“Well…I’m gonna go now…”

Akaashi smiled a small smile again before answering.

“Of course. I give you my thanks.”

Kenma nodded and turned back when Akaashi spoke again.

“Ah, I never got your name.” Kenma flicked his golden eyes up to Akaashis and studied them. No one had ever asked him his name before. He couldn’t help but feel that something was off with Akaashi. Like he was hiding something from kenma.

‘He isn’t hiding things from you Kenma, he just simply has no obligation to tell you anything’ Kenma chastised himself. 

When he realized Akaashi was still looking at him he avoided his gaze and answered.

“Kenma…..Kozume Kenma…..”

When his eyes traveled back up to Akaashi’s he saw something he couldn’t quite comprehend in them. Was that…satisfaction? 

Akaashi nodded “Well then, I give you my thanks Kenma.” Then he turned to enter the bustling room. Kenma hesitated for a moment before telling himself that it really didn’t concern him what Akaashi was so satisfied with, and turned to finally make his way to the baths to soak in the relaxing water.

~ ~ ~

Kenma was sleeping in his bed when he was awoken by the other occupants of his room. He tried fall back into the darkness but the girls next to him were excitedly gabbing away and no matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t drown them out. 

He huffed and sat up, pushing his blankets off his feet and looked to the bed next to him. There were 3 girls there, all of them favor runners like him, and they were chatting non stop. When he asked them what happened they looked slightly shocked at hearing him speak before diving into the newest gossip. 

“Apparently some wild animal broke into the store house. The guards have no idea how it got in or out but all the food in there was trashed, well, the food that didn’t go missing.” 

Kenma was surprised, They hadn’t had any animal attacks in years. In fact the storehouses were more well guarded than the servant quarters. 

The girls continued talking, happily throwing out their own theories as to what happened.  
Kenma had thought it weird but was too tired to think more on it. The animal must’ve been smart and very hungry and that was the end of it. It wasn’t like they only had one store house, the king and nobles would be fine even if it meant that the servants would get a little less at mealtime for a while. 

The blonde made his way back to his small mattress laid out on the floor. He laid back down, resettling under the covers and placing his pillow over his head. It wasn’t enough to completely block out the chatter, but it drowned it out enough, and soon he felt himself slowly sink back down into unconsciousness. 

That night he had a dream that someone had snuck into his room and stared at him for a long time. 

He woke with a start at the loud bang on his door. When he remembered that it was only the early morning guard waking the servants up his heartbeat slowed and the grogginess of early morning settled in. He felt as if he hadn’t slept at all. All of his limbs were heavy and he had a pounding headache resting in his skull. He was sure this was the fault of that stupid nightmare. He silently cursed his brain for making something like that up. 

Kenma stretched his arms in front of his body and let out a huge yawn.

“You always remind me of a cat when you do that.” Kenma looked up to the girl who had spoken. She chuckled at the look he gave her. 

“I’m not a cat” He said. He got up to start getting ready for his day. The girl just laughed a little again and exited the room. Kenma sighed, he really wasn’t a cat. 

He put his feet down and immediately cringed when he felt something crawling a  
on them. Kenma nearly shrieked when he saw hundreds of ants crawling on the ground an all over his legs. He hurriedly shook them off and ran out of the room to find a maid to clean them up for him. After sending her to his room he quickly rushed to the bathroom to rinse, but the feeling of them crawling all over his legs didn’t leave for quite a while.

Trying to forget the horrible morning he had he hurried to work. He busied himself with deliveries and favors, even taking on the ones he knew would make him run around the most. When he wasn’t running a favor he was sitting in a hallway, doing his puzzles and he managed to finish a total of 7 when he was interrupted. 

“Kenma, how lucky I am to find you here.”

Kenma looked up from his spot on the floor and spotted Akaashi standing over him. The blonde blinked up at him before slowly putting his puzzle in the inner pocket of his robes and standing up. 

“Can I help you Akaashi?” He tentatively asked. He was seeing more of this man than he had ever expected. 

“Yes actually, I have a letter I need you to run to town. Do you think you can deliver it at 8:00pm exactly?” Kenma nodded and held out his hand.

“Where do I have to run it to?” 

Akaashi placed the letter in his palm and Kenma secured it inside his robes. 

“To the pub in the east part of town, do you know the one I’m talking about?”

Kenma nodded again. He had been to the pub on errands many times. He wondered what business Akaashi had there.

“Please give it to the bartender, he’ll know what to do with it.” 

“Should I say your name?”

Akaashi thought for a moment “You may.” 

Kenma nodded one last time before turning to run down the hall. He guessed it was somewhere around 6:30 right now and it would take at least an hour to travel to the pub Akaashi was talking about. 

The servant quarters were lively as always. People were always coming in and out and you could always hear laughter coming from somewhere. Kenma was sure that in this whole bleak and dreary country this was the liveliest and most cheerful place. While he wasn’t one to relish in the noise it was a comforting thing to hear once in a while. 

Kenma ducked and weaved under people carrying heavy baskets filled with food for dinner and woman dragging carts filled with cloth in need of wash. He was so used to traversing through these halls he was sure he could do it even with his eyes closed, which he kind of did when he was focused on one of his puzzles and turned his body on auto-pilot.

He saw the maid he had asked to clean the awful bugs from his room and made his way to her. He didn’t necessarily want to talk to her but he very much wanted to know if they were gone.

When the woman saw Kenma she put a hand up to stop him from asking the question forming on his lips.

“I got rid of as much as I could, but I have no idea where they’re coming from. If you see them again try to see where they’re coming from so I can make sure to kill them all.”

Kenma sighed out a thank you and continued his walk to the servant door that led to the frigid air outside. He saw his jacket and snow boots in their spot, and covered himself up with them. Once he deemed himself ready he checked to make sure he still had the letter safely tucked away and opened the door.

The cold air hit him like a wall and Kenma wanted to turn right around and head back into the warmth of the fire filled castle. He shuddered and tried to focus on anything else but the cold air that was burning his skin. He could already feel his nose starting to run and he cursed himself for taking this job.

But of course there was nothing he could now, and with that thought he started making his way into town. 

He followed the road, briefly flashing his favor badge to the guards stationed infant of the servants quarters. When they nodded he started walking down to the town. He could already feel himself freezing in the middle of the road and started jogging to try and warm himself up. 

The town was busy despite the frigid weather. It was becoming closer and closer to dinner time which was the busiest time of the day. All the woman were out buying produce and men were coming home from work. He saw some kids playing in the snow and an old shopkeeper woman scolding them for throwing snow at the shops windows. 

Kenma wasn’t good with people and was even worse with kids. They always wanted to talk, and they had so many questions. He once did a favor of babysitting a noble kid. The tiny creature had kept asking him why he looked so poor. Kenma had tried saying that it’s because he was poor, but the little human had gone on rambling, saying that Kenma should simply become rich, and had started crying when the blonde said that you couldn’t simply wake up rich.

He didn’t do babysitting jobs anymore. 

Kenma had been walking for about an hour when he spotted the pub. Hurrying to the warmth of the building he busted through the door. Some people turned to look at him and he felt his face flushing before making his way up toward the bar.

The place smelt like liquor, food, and sweat. Kenma wrinkled his nose in disgust but continued further inside. He could feel himself defrosting in the warmth from the fire in the center of the room and thought that the horrid smell could be forgiven by the feeling of not freezing to death.

He found himself in front of the bar and sat down on a stool. It took a while before anyone came to serve him but he was grateful, it meant he could rest here a little longer.

The pub was small, only having about 6 tables and a handful of stools at the bar. But the fire pit was big and the food was edible.

After a couple of minutes of waiting a large man walked up to him and set down a glass of water. Kenma took a sip before reaching into his robes and pulling out the letter as well as his badge. He showed it to the man, and when he nodded he handed over the letter. 

“This is from a man named Akaashi. He said you would know what it was.” 

The man nodded again, then disappeared into the back with the letter. Kenma knew that his job was done now. He finished his water and mentally prepared himself for the walk home. He was finally starting to feel his fingers again and really didn’t want to leave. 

Cursing the weather for the millionth time in his life he went back out into the harsh world. The second he was outside he was frozen. He would have to soak for a long time tonight if he wanted to get the chill out of his bones.

He was about half way home, and half way frozen to death, when he heard heated whispering come from an alleyway to his right. Kenma was one to mind his own business, I mean his whole job was basically minding his own business. No matter what he heard or what he was told, he was to always keep quiet, to not ask questions and once the job is done to never think about it again. 

Kenma didn’t know why he suddenly stopped. He couldn’t tell you why he silently creeped up to the alleyway and strained his ears to hear the conversation these people were talking about. He only had his instincts to go on, and they were telling him to listen to these people and to absolutely not get caught. 

Kenma was glad it was so late now. He had delivered Akaashi’s letter exactly at 8:00 like he was told and it took him around 30 minutes to reach this part of town, resulting in it being the extreme darkness of the early night. 

When Kenma was just close enough to hear and far enough away to feel safe he crouched down. 

He couldn’t really hear that well, but if he were to enter the alleyway the men would surely see him. He just had to settle with hearing whatever he could.

“-night we can.” Guy 1 said. 

“And everything is set up?” Guy 2 asked.

“Yes now quit asking so many questions!” Guy 1 chastised.

“Well it’s not like we’re killing some poor drunk, this is the fucking king we’re talking about! I want to make sure everything’s gonna go smoothly.” 

Kenmas eyes widened. These people were going to try assassinating the king? Were they crazy?

“Shut up you idiot! What if someone hears you?”

“No ones out here, it’s to fucking cold.” 

Kenma was listening so intently he didn’t realize that his puzzle was slowly slipping out of his robes. 

When he heard the loud clink of his pen and puzzle hit the cold road below him he froze. 

“Did you hear that?” Guy 1 said.

Kenma didn’t waste any time. Grabbing his pen and puzzle so as to not leave behind any evidence, he ran. He didn’t stop running the whole 5 miles it took to finally reach the castle and when he saw the guards he collapsed on the ground. He panted hard, sucking air into his burning lungs as he tried to chase away the dark spots in his vision. 

The guards rushed over to him, constant strings of ‘are you alright?’ falling from their lips. Kenma would respond, he really would, but he was just starting to feel like maybe he wouldn't die from a lack of oxygen. After what felt like hours though was probably only a very long couple of minutes, he gained enough of his breath back to spit out a sentence.

“I need to see the king.”

~ ~ ~

The guards had looked at him like he was crazy but that didn’t stop them from helping Kenma up and leading him into the castle.

He was now waiting outside the sleeping quarters of the head knight. He had tried to tell anyone who would listen that this was urgent but they assured him that everything was fine and that someone would be out shortly.

“Shortly” turned out to be 45 minutes. When the head guard finally came out Kenma rushed up to him. The man seemed a little surprise at the sudden blonde in front of him, but had no time to react as Kenma was already speaking. 

“Someones going to try and kill the king.”

“Huh?” 

Kenma groaned. What kind of idiot didn’t understand what he said.

“The. King. Is. Going. To. Die.” He pronounced every word as if he were speaking to a toddler.

The guard looked irritated. “What do you mean?”

Kenma was growing more and more frustrated. 

“I was out doing a favor. I heard two men in an alleyway say that they were going to kill the king soon.” 

The guard eyed him with disbelief. 

“Listen kid, thanks for being concerned but you probably just heard some drunks trash talking the king ‘cause of the new taxes.” He ruffled Kenmas hair. “But thanks for your hard work.”

“No-you…..you don’t understand they wern’t-“

“It’s late kid, lets all head to bed alright?”

Kenma could’ve screamed. “You seriously need to listen to me-“

“I did.” The guard interrupted. “And as the head guard of this place I don’t deem it as a threat. You’ve done your job, now go to bed.” The guard glared at him. He walked through his door and slammed it shut behind him

Kenma was furious. He stormed down the hallway and ran head first into a shoulder. 

“Ah!” He cried. He held his nose and pushed it to see if it was broken and thanked the earth that it wasn’t. 

“I’m so sorry-Kenma?” 

Kenma looked up and stared at Akaashi. Why did he run into this man so much? 

“Kenma what’s the matter? Oh goodness your nose is bleeding!” 

Kenma frowned. He didn’t feel anything wrong. But sure enough when he removed his hands from his face he saw that they were in fact covered in blood.

“This day could not get any worse.” He grumbled to himself.

Akaashi took one of his wrists and started dragging him down the hall. 

“Where are you taking me?” Kenma questioned. As much as he didn’t mind Akaashi’s presence he was desperate to go to sleep and end this awful day.

“I’m taking you to my room, don’t worry i’ll clean you up and you can tell me why your day was so bad.” 

Kenma wasn’t one to complain about things like less than pleasant days but with his lack of decent sleep, the dizzying blood loss and the grip on his arm Kenma decided that maybe he should just go with the flow this one time. I mean, Akaashi seemed nice enough, maybe it’d help? 

~ ~ ~

He was sitting in one of the grand guest rooms. Well as grand as this grey place could be. The bed was…..well…..an actual bed and could comfortably fit two people. Of course everything was done in greys, the only variant being dark and light versions of the shade. He was currently sitting on the bed situated in the center of the room and faced a fireplace built into the left side of it. There was a wardrobe on the right side, right by a room that lead to what he assumed was the washroom. He wasn’t allowed in the guest rooms since he turned 10 and was deemed old enough to switch from cleaning duty to favor running.

Akaashi was sitting on a chair in front of Kenma. The blonde was hunched over, pinching his nose hard to stop the god awful bleeding. Akaashi was lightly rubbing his back, a small, comforting gesture. 

They stayed like that for a while, just sitting and waiting for Kenma’s bleeding to stop. When it finally did, Akaashi slowly wiped off his face with a handkerchief, and moved himself to the washroom to rinse the cloth off. 

Kenma glanced over the room. Akaashi didn’t seem to bring a lot of things with him from wherever he was from. He thought he caught sight of something red in a bag Akaashi had by his wardrobe but quickly looked away when the raven exited the washroom. 

“You don’t feel any pain do you?” 

Kenma shook his head. He watched Akaashi as he walked around the bed and came to re-rest on his chair. 

They stayed in comfortable silence for a while until Akaashi spoke.

“Would you like to tell me what’s wrong.” 

Suddenly Kenma was skeptical. He didn’t know this man, not really. He had only talked to the raven a handful of times and all of them were really brief. Plus this man was not even a resident of this country, he lived…..somewhere else. Kenma wasn’t the most patriotic person, but he was smart enough to know that you don’t spill secrets to foreign nobles, even if no one seemed to care about said secrets.

“Just…..a bad day.” 

Akaashi’s eyes narrowed a sliver. If Kenma wasn’t watching he’s sure he would’ve missed it. But that eye narrow gave him confidence in his choice. He didn’t know why, but something just seemed off about Akaashi, why was he here anyways?

“I see. Well if you ever need to talk to someone, I’ll be here for a while longer.”

Kenma nodded and got up to leave. He felt strange walking to the door, he couldn’t tell why but he got the feeling that Akaashi expected something of him, he had no clue what though, they had just met and yet…..

Kenma gave bow before closing the door behind him. He really needed a bath.

~ ~ ~

It was early morning when Kenma was awoken to people bursting into is bedroom. He looked at the other favor runners and noticed that they all the the sleepy and confused look that he had on his face.

Kenma turned his attention to the intruders and saw…..10, he counted 10 guards, and they were coming right towards him.

“Search!” One of them shouted, and before long every guard was threading through the chest at the foot of his bed, throwing his clothes and puzzles across the floor. One guard took a hold of his bicep and yanked him off the bed just in time for two swords to cut into his mattress. They stuck their hand in it and took out all the stuffing and repeated the same with his pillows. 

He could hear the screams of the other favor runners and tried to look at them, but the guard had his arm in a vice like grip. His senses were going into overdrive, fear and adrenaline making his blood pump heavily and his heartbeat beat at what he was sure was not a healthy pace.

“What are you do-“ Kenma started to ask, but he was suddenly cut off.

“I found it!” Kenma looked to the direction of the voice and saw a guard holding up a…..piece of the floor? 

“There’s a space under the floorboard! Look it’s a bloody knife!” The guard did indeed hold up a bloody knife. He wrinkled his nose before his eyes got wide again.

“Look! The missing food from the storage room is here too! It’s completely covered in ants though.”

Kenma looked toward the ground where a piece of the wooden floorboards was missing, he looked in the hole and saw a massive amount of rotting food all completely covered in ants, he also saw a small opened box with an empty imprint in it. One that seemed to perfectly fit the bloody knife still held in the guards hand.

Kenma felt like he was in a dream. He could understand that he was being pulled from the room and down a multitude of hallways, but he couldn’t process it. He knew he was dragged into the throne room and harshly pushed to the floor. He could feel a guard tie his hands behind his back and force him to sit up on his knees. He knew all of these things, so why couldn’t he process any of them?

He faintly recognized people spitting questions at him, could see how red their faces were from screaming much when they grabbed the collar of his robes and stuck their faces right in front of his; he could tell he was in pain when they slapped the right side of his face and made his neck snap left. Everything seemed like it wasn’t happening to him, he felt like the air, and observer wrapped around the situation, a spectator but he couldn’t make himself come back down to reality. 

He felt someone rush to him and wrap their arms around him tightly. This person was yelling. Yelling at him? He heard his name being called and looked up into a very worried face. Akaashi? What was he doing here?

Kenma crashed into reality hard. His face hurt. A lot. His body was sore from the tight restraints around his wrists, and his arms were warm from where Akaashi had his wrapped around him.

“Kenma? Are you alright? Akaashi asked.

“I…..I don’t know whats happening.” Kenma said. He couldn’t comprehend a single thing. What was happening?

“Ha! Look at this wretch lying through his teeth! The king was murdered last night and we have evidence that it was you! You’re sure to be hanged for this you filth!” One of the guards said.

Kenma was still having trouble thinking. 

The king was dead? 

He did it? 

Hanged?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yay! Thank you so much for making it all the way to the end of the chapter! I'm new to this whole fan fiction thing, so any criticisms are welcome, shower as I am a crybaby, please be gentle!
> 
> I promise that i'll continue to work hard to create a hopefully enjoyable fic!
> 
> I'm looking forward to exploring this world of KuroKen with all of you! Once again thank you all for giving this newbies fic a chance, and I should be back soon with a new chapter soon!
> 
> Thank you all so much lovelies!
> 
> ~Ky~


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yay! Chapter 2 is out! Thank you to anyone reading this for taking the time out of your day. I really hope you enjoy this new chapter, and i'm sorry for how short these chapters are.

There comes a time in every persons life where they question all the decisions they’ve ever made. Maybe this happens when a fight with their lover goes in the worst possible direction, and they think ‘what if I had cherished them more. Or told them I loved them a little more often.’ Or maybe they don’t realize they’ve spent too much time at work until they come home to find that their kids have already moved out and they think, ‘maybe I should’ve spent more time with them, watched them grow, told them I was proud of them.’

Kenma was having one of those moments.

‘What if I had declined the favor of Akaashi's? What would I be doing right now if I never stopped to listen in on a conversation that clearly wasn’t any of my business? Would I be sitting here listing to depictions of my death if I never went to tell the guard?’

It was a little surreal, Being thrust into such a dire situation with no warning. Kenma had read novels when he had the time, such injustices had occurred so frequently in the fictional worlds and now here he was, perfectly real and under the same circumstances as any hero from a piece of literature.

But Kenma was not a hero.

He may have found this situation a little amusing if it wasn’t his life hanging on the balance. 

It was weird to be so utterly frightened. The most scared Kenma could remember being was when he broke 3 of the finest china in the palace after he had run into a very full handed chef. The amount of scolding he had gotten that day had burned in the phrase “watch your step” into his mind and the fear of a very angry woman into his heart. 

This was 10 times worse than any scolding he had ever gotten in his life. 

The worst part of this whole situation? He had no idea what to do.

There were a multitude of men spitting questions at him, and he had no answers for any of them.

When they asked him why he stole food from the storehouses, he replied that he hadn’t.

When they asked him how the food had gotten into a space underneath his floors, he said that he didn’t know. 

When they asked him how the knife responsible for the death of the king had wound up in his possession, he told them that he had never seen it before. 

Kenma could tell that these knights didn’t believe a word he said, but what was he supposed to say? How are you to give answers to questions you had never been asked? One could not simply tell a fairytale to children if he himself had never heard the story. 

The worst part was, he had no one to defend him besides himself. 

Where had he been last night? Well he was asleep in his bed, but so was everyone else, there was no one to confirm his claim. 

“He came to me early last night! Kept telling me that the king was gonna die. ‘Course I never though he was gonna kill the man himself.” The head guard was telling everyone currently in the throne room. 

Kenma tried to tell them, anyone, that he hadn’t meant that he was going to kill the king. That he simply overheard a very secret conversation when he was out on a favor. But really, who would believe him? 

“This is all speculation, you don’t know for a fact that he had anything to do with the murder.”

Kenma gained a small spark of hopefulness. That’s right, Akaashi was here, Akaashi was defending him, Akaashi believed him.” 

“You must be daft!“ Scoffed a guard. “We have more than enough evidence to sentence this little rat to hang.” 

“While I admit that everything does point to him, I must ask if you are all bumbling idiots.”  
The guards face twisted into shock, though it was quick to be replaced by anger. 

“You best watch your tongue foreigner, I’ve dealt with many murders in my life, and if the evidence points to a man, I shall not question it.” The head guard narrowed his eyes. His voice was thick with warning and it made Kenma shake in Akaashi’s arms. He only tightened his grip around Kenma, and the blonde could see the overwhelming determination in his grey eyes.

“This boy has been working for this palace his whole life has he not? What would he gain in killing his own king?” 

The guard did not waver in the slightest and Kenma was starting to lose that small spark. Would he really have to die for a crime he did not commit? 

“Why should his motive matter? We’re here to punish the lowlife who killed our precious ruler, not to discuss his reasonings.”

“Do you honestly think the boy is that stupid? No person with half a brain would steal food from their own country, kill their king, and proceed to hide all evidence right underneath them. He might as well be wearing a sign marked murderer for all the sense it makes.” 

Kenma had never had any friends before. If he was being honest he never really wanted one. But right now, looking between the guard and Akaashi, he could not have been more grateful for the man holding him. They weren't exactly friends, but he was the closest thing Kenma had to one. 

But right now, he was more to Kenma than just a plain friend. Akaashi was his life line. He sagged his body into the ravens, not used to the physicality but needing every ounce of support he could get. Akaashi, though unknowing, was the only thing keeping Kenma from completely spiraling into a total meltdown. 

‘He’s going to save me’ Kenma thought over and over again. ‘He’s going to get me out of this mess somehow.’ 

He knew it was stupid, relying on a practical stranger when in reality, there wasn’t a lot said stranger could do. Like the knight had said before, Akaashi was a foreigner. It didn’t matter how powerful or influential he was, in domestic disputes such as this, his voice was unimportant and held little value. 

When Kenma looked into the eyes of the head guard, he could see that the man was absolutely seething. The blonde dropped his eyes to the floor, this man had obviously never had anyone challenge his word before and Kenma wasn’t stupid enough to provoke him any further. He was in deep enough trouble as it was. 

“I believe I have already told you to mind your tongue once before. I don't know how things work in your country, but we don’t have things like trials here. Not to mention that if we did, we would very much use our own people. You’re defending a favor runner, a mere slave and you dare act as if you know him? Learn your place foreigner, ‘case now that the king is dead, I’m the one in charge.” 

Kenma thought if words could kill, he was positive that Akaashi would be dead. 

Unlike the extremely scared blonde on his knees, the raven was eerily calm. He unwrapped his arms from Kenmas body, and the small male almost let out a pleading whimper in protest. 

Akaashi moved to stand in front of Kenma, shielding him from the hotheaded guard that so very much itched to lob his head off. 

“In what country is the kings guard next in line?” Akaashi questioned.

“In this country.” The guard responded. 

Kenma didn’t know about politics, he never had to and he never wanted to learn, but now he desperately wished he did. Kenma wished that anyone else could be in charge, for this man seemed to have a personal vendetta against him. 

Kenmas arms were starting to hurt. The binds on his wrists were pulled too tight and he squirmed to try and alleviate some of the discomfort. His wiggling seemed to distract the guard from his death glare on Akaashi, and his eyes settled on the blonde who immediately stilled.

Kenma was looking anywhere but at him. He looked to the stone grey walls, then to the high ceiling above him. He traced over the worn patches of the rug underneath him, every so often checking back to see if the guard was still watching him.

He was.

Kenma closed his eyes and tilted his head to shield his face with his hair. The adrenaline from the unexpected situation still pumping through his veins and making his heart beat at a too fast pace. 

“I don’t know why i’m even entertaining your argument,” The guard said. “Kill the traitor now.” 

The knights in the room moved quickly, drawing their swords and placing their aim on Kenma. The blondes blood ran cold. He tried to get on his feet to run away, but they failed him and he fell to the floor. 

All the knights were walking toward him and Kenma watched them with wide eyes as he struggled to move his body from it’s laying position, though it was hard with his hands so tightly bound behind his back. 

Akaashi moved to put his body in between Kenma and the advancing force, throwing his arms wide out to his side, shielding the small boy. 

“If you harm this man, your country will go to war,” Akaashi spoke. “Can you afford that with a missing king?” 

The knights didn’t halt until the head guard put a hand up. “Wait.” They stopped immediately and turned to look at their commander. 

He narrowed his eyes at Akaashi. “What do you mean war? With who?” 

“With my country.” 

The guard didn’t waver.

“Why would your country fight over a favor runner from ours?”

“Because, Akaashi started. “He’s the property of my king.” 

Both Kenmas and the guards eyes widen at that. 

“What the hell do you mean? He’s never even been to another country.” 

“On the contrary.” Akaashi said, lowering his arms and taking a few steps forward. “My country is his birthplace, which automatically makes him my kings property.” 

Kenma was confused, he had no idea what Akaashi was talking about. He had lived here his whole life, I mean, know one ever knew who his parents were, but he just guessed that they had sold him off for some money so that they could feed themselves. 

The guard seemed just as confused. 

Akaashi continued “Which means if you harm him, it will be taken as killing one of our citizens. And even if you said that he killed your ruler, in our country, we do have trials. And he will be sure to receive one.” 

The guard scoffed. “This is ridiculous! Are you so desperate to save him that you’d make up such a ludicrous lie?”

“I assure you that this is no lie,” Akaashi said. “And I have proof. Though, it is up to you to look at it.” 

The guard seems to contemplate it. 

“Or you could kill him and have our entire military force upon you by the end of the year. Your choice really” 

Akaashi’s little push seemed to make his decision for him.

“If this “proof” of yours isn't up to my standard, I will cut off the boys head myself.” 

Akaashi nodded, “That’s fair.” 

Kenma thought that it wasn't very fair when even he didn’t know if Akaasih was lying or not. He really didn’t want to get his hopes up only to have them ripped from him in the form of an execution platform. 

The guard nodded back and then looked to his men. “Take him to the dungeons while we talk. And don’t kill him.” 

The knights nodded and sheathed their swords. Two of the walked over and picked Kenma up by his arms and preceded to drag him out of the throne room. He gave a panicked look back to Akaashi, who only offered a small smile in return. The last thing Kenma saw before he was dragged out of the room was Akaashi’s mouth silently saying “trust me.” 

Kenma didn’t know if he could. 

~ ~ ~ 

 

Kenma was taken down to the dark and slightly damp dungeons. He had never been down here before, and he wished he never had too. The smell was what hit him first. It smelled like rotten food, burnt flesh and human waste, Kenma immediately gagged and tried not to throw up. 

The men holding his arms began to push him forward, much to Kenmas dismay. As they walked, well more like dragged, Kenma further in he looked around to all the cells. There weren’t many, as the castle dungeons were home to only the most dangerous criminals, and the country was so small that most people got arrested for small things like public indecency. 

Kenma counted three other people in total. He hoped it was three, one of them didn’t seem to be moving. 

Their party came to a stop and one of the guards pulled out a set of keys from behind him. He moved to open the door to what Kenma assumed was his cell. 

His assumption was proved correct when his personal escorts uncuffed him and threw him to the floor of the cage that would be his home for the foreseeable future.  
When Kenma lifted his head the guards were already locking him in. 

“You get one meal a day, toilets in the corner.” They left after that, not giving Kenma the chance to say a word. 

He looked to the corner and noticed that the “toilet” was only a hole in the ground. Kenma moved back until he hit the wall behind him, and curled is legs to his chest. 

The cell was small, its maximum occupancy was probably somewhere around 10 people. The floor was made of dirt, and while there were no windows to let in the frigid air from outside, he still felt cold. 

He didn’t have time to wallow before someone was talking to him. 

“What’s yer name?” He heard someone ask. Kenma glanced to the cell across from him, noting the middle aged man that was pressed up against the bars, looking at him expectantly. 

Kenma was quick to look away and buried his head into his arms. 

“Not much of a talker ay? Ya look young, caught with an older maiden in bed were ya?” 

Kenma glanced back up and looked at the man in bewilderment. 

Well,” He chuckled, “Guess that’d be a no huh?” 

Kenma didn’t like this man, he just wanted to peacefully wait out his time in this place in silence. 

“The names Cee, how ‘bout we be friends lil’ one, since the guy next to ya doesn’t like me very much and the guy next to me is dead.” 

Kenma immediately flicked his eyes to the previously mentioned man. He really didn’t seem to be moving…

“Shut up, I ain’t dead yet ya moron.” The man suddenly spoke. It made Kenma jump, and he was quick to re-bury his head in his arms, he was already done with all the surprises this day had given to him so far.

“Well look he’s still breathin’!” Cee laughed. “Thought we lost ya!” 

“Not yet.” The other men replied. 

Kenma drowned them out after a while and started to think about his situation. He was positive that he had in fact not killed the king. He was also fairly positive that he was going to die for it anyways. 

‘unless Akaashi can somehow save me’ He thought.

Kenma started thinking about what Akaashi had said earlier in the throne room. There was no way that Kenma was really a citizen of another country. I mean, it’s true that he had no proof that he was never born somewhere else, people couldn’t recall memories from such a young age, but if it was true then it begged the question, how had he gotten here? Did is parents dump him in this icy country when they decided they didn’t want him anymore? Had he been kidnapped and taken from them? Or had his child self ran away from home and somehow ended up here?” 

Kenma scratched that last one out, a baby somehow crawling its way into a different country just wasn’t plausible. 

But even if Akaashi was right, what did that do? Could he really convince the entirety of the kings guard to not harm him? 

Kenma’s head was starting to hurt from all the what ifs his mind was wrapped around. He wished he had one of his puzzles to put all of his attention on. He wondered what the favor runners were doing now. ‘Probably gossiping’ He thought. This was the most exiting news the castle had ever heard, and he could already tell that the place was filled with the theories people were throwing out there. They were all probably debating wether he did it or not. 

After hours of sitting and thinking with the occasional booming conversation of Cee and the other cell occupants, Kenma started to feel tired. There was no comfortable place to lay as there was nothing in the cell besides him and his “toilet” so he got as comfortable as he could on the cold dirt ground. 

~ ~ ~

He was awoken when he felt something hit his face. Rapidly sitting up he looked at the guards currently standing over him. His gaze dropped down to the piece of bread currently sitting on the floor, and what was he assumed the object that his his face. He glanced back up when he saw one of them bending down and setting a glass of water next to him before turning to exit and lock him in again. 

Kenma didn’t want to eat the food, the stale bread that was now dusted in dirt as it had rolled on the floor, but he didn’t know when his next meal might be, so he gingerly picked it up and brushed it off with his sleeve before breaking off a piece. 

It wasn’t good by any means, but it was edible and he was hungry so he finished his whole loaf and proceeded to drink his glass of water. 

It was after the whole day had gone by that he realized he couldn’t do that. When hours had gone by with nobody returning with any type of sustenance he promised himself to ration out his meals so he would get to eat throughout the whole day. 

He had hoped that the time spent in here could be spent mostly sleeping, but living on a perfect schedule his whole life had proven to be ingrained in him, and his body was fully rested after only minimal amounts of sleep. 

Kenma never thought he could miss moving so much. He always complained to himself about being tired from all the running his favors made him do, but now he was desperate for a walk. 

The best he could do was pace around his little cell, back and forth, over and over until he had left tracks in the dirt and he was dizzy from turning so much. 

The other cell occupants would try to talk to him, and he would respond as minimally as possible. The first time he had spoken Cee laughed and said that he was sure Kenma had been a mute until he spoke. Kenma didn’t mind being though of as as a mute, but he engaged in their conversations a little more then before.

The conversations were mostly engaged by Cee and the man in the cell next to his, but Kenma and his neighbor participated sometimes. 

Kenma learned pretty quickly that certain topics were off limits. Mostly the ones that had to do with why anyone was in there, unless brought up by the person in question, you would receive dirty glares if you even mentioned it. 

Kenma didn’t know how long he had been there for. With no windows there was no way to even tell if it was day or night. He had tried to count the meals he got, but they brought them at the most random of times that Kenma didn’t know if he was being given breakfast, lunch, or dinner. 

When the blonde was so bored out of his mind he thought he might actually die, he started to draw things in the dirt of the floor. At first they were just doodles, then he had tried to draw some puzzles for himself. After a while they turned into words, and he found himself writing a journal about events in his life. He recalled all the memories he could and wrote them down, a full story of his past before wiping it away and starting a new one. 

Kenma was aching for a bath, or even a wet cloth he could wipe himself off with. Everything was dirty, his skin, his hair, his nails and clothes, everything was disgusting. He couldn’t wait to get out of the awful cell, at this point he was starting to not care even if it was on the way to an execution platform. 

~ ~ ~

Kenma was writing in the dirt when he heard the door to the dungeons open. All of the prisoners had gotten their food for the day, which only made him more confused. He saw the guards round the corner and they quickly walked over to his cell, unlocked the door, and swung it open. 

“Stand up.” One of them said. 

Kenma was confused, but stood up none the less. 

“Turn around.” The same guard spoke. 

He did as he was told and he could feel the man yank his arms together and tie his arms. Kenma hadn’t missed the feeling. 

The guards grabbed Kenma’s arms and started pulling him out of the cell and to the dungeon door. 

“Where are we going?” Kenma had asked. However, he didn’t receive an answer. 

He looked back to see all three of his dungeon mates looking at him through the bars, though he was pushed through the door before they could say anything. Kenma’s eyes squeezed shut the moment the light hit him, having been in the dark for so long it took him an extended amount of time to get used to it. His feet never stopped moving as the guards made sure to keep propelling him forward. 

When he could finally open his eyes without feeling like he was going blind, he took in his surroundings. They were in the main hall of the castle and he could see all the workers crowding around his party. They were whispering to each other and were quick to huddle to the wall when Kenma passed them by. 

Kenma was confused as to what was going on. He felt like an animal on display, an act that people could watch. He dipped his head to let his greasy hair frame his face to hide himself from all the prying gazes set upon him. 

Kenma only looked up when he realized that they were heading to the door that led outside. The door was opening before him and he stole quick glances to the guards to confirm that this was what was supposed to happen. The men didn’t seemed fazed and continued dragging Kenma toward it. 

They didn’t stop to let him put on any outerwear and he was shivering the second they stepped out into the arctic land. His clothed feet were quick to soak up the moisture of the snow beneath him and the wind harshly bit at his exposed flesh. He saw a carriage before them and stepped into when they reached it. He was glad for the little protection the top of it gave him and huddled on the floor when the guards let him go. 

He didn’t have time to bring his body temperature up when one of the guards pulled a blindfold over his eyes. He couldn’t see through the cloth and was instantly put on hight alert and his body jumped when the carriage abruptly started moving. Kenma couldn’t tell where they were going and strained is ears to pick up on any clues, the only things he could hear were the cloppes off the horses feet and his own ragged breathing. 

The ride wasn’t a long one, and too quickly Kenma was pulled from the fleeting warmth of the carriage to the bitter outside. He was pulled hurriedly in some direction, the guards holding him seemingly in a rush compared to their relatively languid pace of before. 

His feet hit something before him and the men lifted him up. 

‘Ah, there are stairs.’ He thought and moved his legs up instead of forward. 

They reached the top of the staircase and walked forward a couple of feet before turning to face the left and one of the guards kicked the back of Kenma’s leg causing him to fall to his knees. 

The blindfold was torn off and Kenma was staring into a sea of faces. 

“Today we are here to witness the punishment of a traitor.” Kenma’s head snapped to the right where he saw the same head guard from before yelling loudly to the crowd before him. 

Kenma’s eyes flitted about. He could now see that the staircase he had climbed had led him to the the large platform he was currently kneeling on. His mind went muddled and he once again couldn’t think straight. 

“I am proud to announce that the heathen who murdered our precious king in his sleep just a short time ago will now be put to death in front of you all now!” 

The crowed roared and cheered at the guards words and Kenma panicked. He got to his feet and tried running off of the platform, but was quickly caught by the escorts and before he could blink his face was pressed into the cold stone of his deathbed. 

“Look! He even tries to flee! All the more proof that he’s guilty! Let’s quickly get this over with, it’s freezing out here.” He mumbled the last bit and began to walk toward Kenma. 

He heard a sword being unsheathed and his heart beat wildly in his chest, he was starting to hyperventilate and shake and tried to move but to no avail, the grip on him was too strong. 

Kenma’s eyes searched the crown, silently begging anyone to help him. He was only met with poisonous glares and defining screams until his orbs fell onto anothers. Akaashi looked at him from the crowd and there was clear pity written on his face. Kenma could feel tears starting to stream down his cheeks as he stared into the others eyes. 

“Traitor Kozume Kenma, for the crime of slaughtering the ruler of our country, I hear by sentence you to death!” 

Kenma gave out a sob and watched Akaashi’s mouth form around silent words. 

‘I’m sorry.’ 

Kenma slightly gasped before he felt the cold metal of the blade touch the back of his neck. 

~ ~ ~

He woke up with a start and sat up. He grasped at his robes to try and quell his raging heart beat. 

A dream, it was only a dream. Kenma whimpered and brought his knees to his chest and wrapped his arms around himself. He focused on his breathing, taking in deep inhales and letting out long exhales. When he felt like he was no longer dying he lifted his head. 

“Ya alright there?” Cee asked. 

Kenma gave him a short nod and stared at the floor of his cell. 

A while later when he heard the door to the dungeons opening he quickly scooted to the far back wall. He wrapped himself into the smallest ball he could morph his body into and wished he could just disappear. He could hear footsteps coming closer and only tightened himself up more. 

The door to his cell opened and Kenma squeezed his eyes shut tighter. He turned his head so his face was pressed into the dirt of the floor. 

‘Please, please leave.’ He thought. When he felt a hand on his arm he tensed up. 

“Kenma, it’s me.” 

Kenma peaked up from the floor and into slate grey eyes. 

“Akaashi?” His voice came out as a soft whimper and he could see Akaashi’s eyes soften. 

“Yes, I’ve come to get you out of here, come with me.” 

Kenma started to get up before coming to a halt. What if this was a trap? What if Akaashi was only going to lead him to his eagerly awaiting death?

Akaashi gently pulled his arm. 

“It’s okay, I promise, please Kenma.” 

The sincerity in Akaashi’s voice plus Kenma’s own desire to get out of the dirty cell was what propelled him to stand up. He stayed close to Akaashi’s back as he followed behind him out of his cage. 

He glanced at the other prisoners, whoo looked at him with jealously then flicked his eyes up to the guards who led him out to make sure they weren’t going to pull him back in, as if this was all one big misunderstanding. 

They didn’t stop him and just like in his dream when he stepped out into the light of the castle his eyes automatically shut, this time though he was not being dragged to the castle door. Instead, he followed Akaashi down the hallways until thy reached the ravens room. 

When they were safely inside with the door shut behind them, Akaashi led him to the bathroom. As he stoked the fire and waited for the bath to eat up he walked back over to Kenma. The blonde looked at himself in the mirror on the wall and cringed. He looked awful, you couldn’t even tell that his hair was light anymore with how dirty it was, and his clothes and skin were no better. 

He looked away and moved his gaze to Akaashi’s face. The raven began to remove Kenma’s old, dirty robes. Normally the blonde wouldn’t even think of letting another human touch him, but right now he was extremely grateful, he didn’t know if he could handle doing this by himself right now. 

When he was fully undressed Akaashi helped him into the water. Kenma let out a large sigh, the water felt so good after who knows how long of sitting in the same filth day after day. 

Akaashi pumped some soap onto a rag and began tentatively rubbing at Kenma’s skin. When the blonde didn’t protest he pressed harder, scrubbing all the grim off of his body. He started at Kenma’s shoulders, working way down his arms and fingers and moved down to scrub at his back. Turning the blonde to face him he rubbed at his chest and then his face. Kenma was in heaven, the warm water and Akaashi’s fingers working all the soreness and kinks out of his body were exactly what he needed. 

Akaashi reached into the water to pull at Kenma’s left leg. The smaller boy moved to position himself correctly and lifted the limb out of the water, The raven immediately started working at the new skin, making sure to get every speck of nastiness off of the blonde. He worked across his thigh, then down to his knees and calf and finished at his feet. They repeated the same with the other leg and Akaashi gave Kenma the cloth to wipe his private area himself while the raven pumped shampoo into his hand and started to scrub at Kenma’s hair.

Akaashi massaged his head and Kenma leaned into his touch, relsishing in the feeling of Akaashi’s fingers working at his scalp. 

The taller male slowly pushed him down until his head was immersed in the water and slowly started washing the shampoo out, they repeated his with the conditioner and soon enough the water was too dirty to stay in. 

Akaashi stood up and helped Kenma do the same. The blonde stepped out of the water and was wrapped up in a fluffy towel in no time. Akaashi gently dried him off, and they made their way back into the bedroom. 

When Kenma was sat on the bed, Akaashi went to his wardrobe and pulled out some robes. 

“Most of your things were ruined,” He started. “But I saved what I could.” 

Kenma nodded and gave a small thanks and let the raven help him dress. When he was fully covered and wrapped in a blanket Kenma couldn’t hold back his questions. 

“What happened?” He asked. 

Akaashi gave a sad smile. “I’m sorry it took me so long to get you out, there were some documents that had to be rushed over.” 

“It’s okay…” 

“Don’t worry.” Akaashi said. “The good news is that I managed to convince the kings guard to not harm you.” 

Kenma let out the breath he hadn’t realized he had been holding. 

“Unforftunelty the bad news” He started again. “Is that I cannot guarantee your safety here.” 

“What does that mean?” Kenma asked. 

“I proved that you were originally a citizen of my country, that is why you are still alive. However if you choose to stay in this land, you’ll be revoking your citizenship.” 

“I don’t get it…” Kenma was confused, if he’s safe from being executed, then why were there any problems? 

“If you revoke the citizenship of my country then you'll be a wanderer, you won’t belong anywhere, and that gives the guard free range over you. No one would fight over a wanderer.” 

“Basically,” Akaashi looked Kenma straight in the eyes. “There’d be nothing to stop them from killing you.” 

Kenmas blood froze. He couldn’t stay, but where could he go? He had no family, no friends to help him, he had no one—

“Which means your only option is to come with me.” 

Gold orbs flashed to grey ones. 

“Come…with…you?” Kenma’s brain wasn’t working properly. After so much time spent in a stale state, the sudden onslaught of information made his mind spin. 

“Yes,” Akaashi started. As if knowing Kenma’s mental dilemma, he explained as slowly and as best as he could. “You would come with me back to my country and live there.” 

Kenma didn’t know what to think. “But i’ve— i’ve never even been outside of the city before and—“ 

“I know, it would definitely be a big shock, but I promise i’ll be there the whole time, you won’t be alone.” 

Akashi’s words were comforting but the fear spiking through Kenma’s blood still flowed strong.

Kenma took a deep breath and nodded. “Okay, i’ll go.” What else was he supposed to do? He couldn’t stay, not if he wanted to stay alive. 

“I’m glad. I’ve made arrangements for us to leave in the morning, I ask that you stay here tonight, for safety reasons.” 

“Okay.” Kenma agreed. “What time is it?” 

“A little past three in the morning. We should sleep, we have a long journey ahead of us.” 

Kenma sat awkwardly on the bed. He hadn’t shared a bed with anyone before, was there a proper etiquette? 

“Please relax Kenma. Just lay down and rest, don’t worry about anything.” 

The blonde tried to relax himself and crawled to the right side of the bed. He settled himself under the blankets and Akaashi did the same. It wasn’t as bad as he thought it would be, and the bed was way more comfortable then the dirt floor that had been is home for the past couple of weeks. All the stress of his situation seemed to catch up to him, but the warm darkness of sleep called his name and he was quick to slip in unconsciousness. 

~ ~ ~ 

Kenma was shaken awake by gentle hands. He slowly opened his eyes and rubbed at them, leaning forward and streching his arms as far forward as he could. 

He heard a soft chuckle to his side. 

He met Akaashi’s eyes and noticed the small smile there. “What?” 

“Oh nothing,” Akaashi smiled. “You just reminded me of a cat for a moment.” 

Kenma’s eyes narrowed. “…i’m not a cat…” He grumbled. 

Akaashi’s eyes got serious suddenly. “You should get dressed, i’d like to leave as quickly as possible.” 

Kenma nodded and hurried to do just that. Changing into fresh robes he placed his old ones into the bag Akaashi had pointed out as holding all of his belongings. 

The bag was small, apparently not that much had been salvageable, just a couple sets of robes and 3 of his puzzles. He couldn’t complain, something was better than nothing after all. 

As both he and Akaashi didn’t have a lot they were quick to leave the room with their possessions in hand. Kenma didn’t see anyone which he thought strange, but decided was for the better. 

They walked just the two of them to the front doors of the castle where they hurriedly put on their outerwear and left the warmth of the building. 

This time when Kenma saw a carriage before him he felt relieved, this was his one way ticket to safety. 

Kenma could tell that the carriage was nice. It’s doors shut all the way and it was well insulated on the inside. The seats were cushioned and Kenma collapsed onto one side with Akaashi on the one across from him. They both set their bags beside them and relaxed when they started moving. 

“I made sue to leave at a time when no one would be here to see us off. I’m sorry you didn’t get to goodbye to anyone.” 

Kenma shook his head. “There’s no one to say goodbye too.” 

He looked out of the window at the retreating outline of the home he had spent his whole life in. 

He hoped he could adapt to his new country. 

He hoped he could start a new life. 

He hoped that this was the right decision.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I feel like this story is starting to sound like an AkaKen fic, but I promise it in't! I just really like the idea of Akaashi and Kenma being good friends. Anyways I thank you again for taking time out of your day to read my story, it makes me so happy! I hope you found it at least a little enjoyable! Thank you all again and have a wonderful day. ^.^ 
> 
> ~Ky~


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yay! I wasn't going to have Hinata or Kageyama in this story at all but I thought, "Why not?" Anyways as always thank you for reading this, I hope you enjoyed it even a little bit and i'll continue to work hard to create an enjoyable story.

When he asked Akaashi how long it would take to get to his country, the man had only replied “A while.” Kenma didn’t know how long that entailed, but he supposed it didn’t really matter in the end. 

The carriage they were in was warm, the frigid air somehow not making it’s way in through any of the cracks. Kenma had never been in any transport this high class, it made him wonder exactly who the man sitting across from him was. When he got down to thinking about it, He new next to nothing about Akaashi. 

Kenma glanced at him from underneath his eyelashes. Akaashi was looking through some documents and every so often would let out a little sigh and rub at the bridge of his nose. Okay, he was stressed, Kenma could tell he was starting to lose focus in his work and decided to ask some of the questions he’d been harboring in his mind. 

“Would you really have raged war over me if I was killed?” 

“Of course not,” Akaashi said, he set down his papers next to him and met Kenma’s eyes. “You’re death wouldn’t have mattered in the slightest to my king.” 

Kenma gulped a little. “Then why…?” 

“Just because it wouldn’t have mattered to a nation, does not mean it wouldn’t have mattered to me.” 

“I still don’t understand.” Kenma said. “Why would you save a slave?” 

Akaashi sighed. “If I have the power to stop it, why would I let anyone die?” 

Kenma supposed that it made sense, though he thought that if he were in the same situation, he wouldn’t of fought nearly as hard for his own life. 

“You said you had the power to stop it,” Kenma said suddenly registering the words. He asked the question most prevalent in his mind. “How did you?” 

“Ah, that.” Akashi stared. “I have a list, it has the names of the dead on it.” 

Kenma was getting more and more confused. He also was getting a little creeped out. 

“Names of the…dead?” 

Akaashi nodded and his hand moved to his robes, pulling out an old looking document. He looked at it with bitterness. 

“There was a very large accident in my country, it must’ve been 13 years ago now. We still don’t know the details but, the survivors helped us create a list of the dead.” 

Kenma started at Akaashi, willing him to continue on. 

“This is that list, it contains all the names of the known dead, the people who’s body were found and those who’s…weren’t.” 

“I don’t understand.” Kenma spoke when Akaashi just stared at him, if he was supposed to to catch on, well he wasn’t. 

“You’re name is on this list Kenma.” 

Kenma’s eyes widened. 

“But, how did you know it was me? I mean, There could be thousands of people with my name.” 

“I couldn’t believe it at first either,” Akaashi started. “But I saw your eyes, they were so much like the people from my country that I had to check,” 

Kenma’s mind flashed back to the first time him and Akaashi had crossed paths, he remembered how the raven had begun to reach for his robes, most likely for the paper he now held in his hands. 

“When you told me your name,” He finished, “I knew it couldn’t be a coincidence.” 

“Then, how did I get to this country? I don’t remember ever living anywhere else. And…my parents?” 

“Their bodies were found and identified, i’m sorry. And as for how you got here, well…unfortunately I don’t have any idea.” 

Kenma nodded. He wasn’t sad for his parents, he had never known them and had grown up thinking he just didn’t have any. It may seem cruel to others but they were no better than strangers to him. 

“You were held in the dungeons for so long because I had to have your family register flown over, I must apologize for that.” 

Kenma shook his head, it was over now and he really didn’t want to think about his time stuck in the dirty cell beneath the castle. 

Akaashi seemed to sense the blonde’s lack of will for any more conversation and went back to looking over the the piles of paperwork he had in front of him. 

With the lack of adrenaline running through his body Kenma was suddenly aware of how bored he was. He stared out of the window at the never changing scenery before him and noted how tired he was of the color grey. From the ground to the sky to the clothes on his back, adding in the silent passing of their carriage over the snow, the world felt utterly muted. He wondered for a moment if he had ever seen another color in his life at all…

Kenma wondered what his new home would be like, would it be as dreadfully plain as his old one? ‘No’ He thought ‘It wouldn’t.’ He looked at Akaashi’s skin and noted the slight color brushed upon it. Kenma deduced that their had to be at least a little exposure to the sun for it to get that way. He wondered if his own flesh would ever glow the way Akaashi’s did, he often thought the paleness of his skin made him look ill. 

~ ~ ~ 

Their Journey consisted of nothing interesting. They traveled, stopped to have quick meals, traveled more, took bathroom breaks, traveled, and slept. Kenma and Akaashi had multiple conversations, mostly of trivial things. He still thought that the raven was nice to be around, he was good company when he needed to be and quiet when they were not being conversational. 

It took five days before they parted from their ride. When both him and Akaashi stepped into the outside world Kenma was a little shocked, before him was more water than he had ever seen in his whole life. He had read of such large bodies of water before, but words could not describe the vastness of it. 

“Have you ever been to the sea before?” Akaashi asked when he noticed the wide eyed look the blonde regarded it with. 

Kenma shook his head. “It’s so big.” He said in awe. 

Akaashi chuckled. “Wait until you see it in the sun, when the light sparkles off of the top of the water it’s breathtaking.” 

Kenma was exited, but it was replaced by fear when he saw a large building floating in the water. 

“Is that a boat?” Akaashi turned to wear Kenma was looking and nodded. “That’s the ship we’re going to board. You cannot get to my country by land.” 

Kenma was frightened, he had never been on a ship, what happened when they were only surrounded by water and something happened? 

Akaashi lightly squeezed his shoulder. “It’s alright, nothing bad will happen I promise. The worst situation will be if you get seasick.” 

Kenma took one big breath and gathered up the courage to start his accent up the walkway connecting the ship to the land. 

There were men running all over the deck, carrying large barrels and sacks and scurrying about. Kenma had to quickly move out of the way to avoid being trampled by a large man carrying barrels full of food. He backed up into Akaashi who steadied him before moving the both of them inside the cabin. The raven led him further inside and nodded politely to whoever they passed. 

“Is this your ship?” Kenma had asked however Akaashi shook his head. 

“It belongs to the king, but I suppose it is the only one I use when I travel.” 

“You must be an important person…” Kenma said trying to get any sort of information out of the man. He had not learned much about this place he was going too, whenever he asked Akaashi answered simply yet vaguely. He wondered if that was just how the man was. 

“I am not royalty if that is what you mean.” Akaashi responded. This is what Kenma meant, while his question was technically answered, it wasn’t. Akaashi wasn’t royalty, so why did he get a whole ship to himself? 

“Ah master! I’m so happy you've arrived!” 

Kenma turned to see a flash of orange run up to them before coming to a screeching halt. 

“Ah Hinata, I would like to introduce you to Kenma, he’s the boy who will be coming to live with us.” 

Hinata’s eyes shot open and an affable smile engulfed his face. He took Kenma’s hands in his own and shook then furiously. 

“You’re Kenma? I’m so exited to meet you! Let’s be friends! Oh! I’m Hinata by the way!” 

Kenma felt winded just looking at the small boy before him. He took his hands out of the others grasp as politely as he could and looked to the floor. 

“Kozume Kenma…nice to meet you.” 

“Don’t overwhelm him now Hinata, he’s not used to things yet so lets make sure he’s comfortable okay?” 

Hinata saluted to Akaashi with an “Aye aye sir” and Kenma found himself being dragged off in another direction. 

“I’ll take him to his room so you should rest Akaashi-san!” Hinata waved over his shoulder and Kenma turned to the raven with pleading eyes, however he found himself around a corner and out of the others sight. 

Hinata started rambling and he was talking so fast Kenma had a hard time understanding what he was saying. He did know that they climbed down some stares and stopped outside of a door. 

“We don’t really have guest rooms since we don’t usually bring people on board with us, but I hope this is okay!” 

Hinata opened the door to reveal a small room. It was simple, with a bed on one wall, a chest opposite of it for his clothes and a table to the side. Kenma walked inside and sat on the bed. He thought it was comfortable. 

“This is more than enough. Thank you Hinata.” 

“Oh you can just call me Shoyou!” 

“Shouyou…” Kenma said uncertainty, he had never called someone by their first name before. 

“Well since we’re friends we should just call each other by our names, right?” 

Kenma tilted his head to the side. “Friends? We’ve only just met.” 

Hinata’s gaze dropped and he looked to the side. 

“Oh, if you don’t wanna be friends I guess that’s fine.” 

Kenma didn’t like the look on Hinata’s face and so he quickly responded. “No, it’s fine. I mean…we can be friends I guess.” 

Hinata lit up again and ran to jump on the bed next to the blonde. 

“So! Is it always this cold up here?” 

Kenma nodded and looked down at his hands. 

“Wow it’s so freezing! I couldn’t live here all the time! What do you do for fun?” 

Kenma looked over in confusion at the sudden topic change. 

“I didn’t really have free time.” 

“What? Why?” 

“I had a job.” 

“Wow!” Hinata turned to sit crosslegged on the bed and stared directly at Kenma. The blonde shrunk his shoulders more. “What did you do?” 

“I ran favors.” 

Kenma looked out of the corner of his eyes at Hinata’s confused expression. 

“I don’t get it.” He said and Kenma looked away and answered. 

“When people need to get in touch with each other, or if they need something done quickly I was the one who did it.” 

“Woah, so you were like the command center or something!” 

Kenma hid the twitch of his mouth with his hair. “Not really.” 

“Well I think that’s pretty cool. All everybody does is boss me around!” 

“I think our jobs were pretty much the same.” Kenma said. 

“Hmm, I guess. So why did you leave?” Hinata looked up at him with expectant eyes and Kenma looked back with confused ones. 

“You don’t know?” 

Suddenly Hinata’s eyes got wide and he looked panicked. “Oh crap i’m not supposed to bring it up!” He chuckled nervously. “You won’t tell Akaashi-san will you?” 

“No, I won’t say anything.” 

Hinata sighed in relief. “Oh thank goodness! Hey are you hungry?” 

It was going to take Kenma a while to get used the random topics switches Hinata seemed to be fond of, but he shook his head nonetheless. 

“Ah, no, i’m fine.” 

Hinata got up quickly and ran to the door. “At least pretend you are! The ship has really good food and if I say i’m getting it for you then I can eat some! Don’t tell okay?” 

Something about the little orange boy had Kenma’s affections swelling and he found himself saying “Our little secret.” before he could stop himself. 

Hinata’s smile was blinding and he was gone just as quickly as he had appeared. 

Kenma was relieved at the silence that followed the absence, he wanted time to himself to adjust to his surroundings and stock up on energy, he had a feeling he would need it. 

He was looking around the room when a soft knock sounded on the door. He moved toward it curiously, expecting for Hinata to just barge right in. 

“Shoyou-“ He quickly cut himself off when he noticed that it in fact wasn’t Hinata sanding outside his door, but a very tall and very unpleasant looking man. 

“Um…” Kenma started. He didn’t like meeting new people and was unhappy to learn that this day would most likely consist of him doing just that. 

“Here.” The man said. He shoved something toward Kenma. The blonde took it and recognized it as his bag full of his belongings. 

Kenma spoke out a thanks and went to shut the door when he heard a “Bakageyama! What are you doing?!” and saw Hinata running down the hall toward them, mouth stuffed full of food and plates full of more on either of his hands. 

“What he hell dumbass you’re stealing food again! We've barley been here for 10 minutes.” ‘Bakageyama’ said. Hinata made it to the door and swallowed the contents of his mouth before responding. 

“Kenma said he was hungry, it’ not even for me.” 

“Then why are you eating it dumbass?” 

“Stop calling me dumbass, idiot!” 

Kenma was starting to get a headache from all the bickering happening in front of him. He let out a sigh which seemed to catch Hinata’s attention and he shoved his way inside of Kenma’s room and set the plates of food on the bed. 

“Go away Kageyama, me and Kenma want to talk and we don’t need your grumpy face around to spoil the mood.” 

Kageyama huffed and moved to turn around. 

“I just came to give him his stuff and to tell you that we’ll be setting out soon.” He turned fully then and disappeared behind the closing door. 

Kenma was nervous again. Akaashi had said something about sea sickness and he hoped this whole journey wasn’t going to be filled with nausea. 

Hinata seemed to notice the sudden mood shift in the blonde and tried to comfort him. 

“Ever been on a boat?” 

Kenma shook his head and Hinata gave a warm smile. 

“Don’t worry! You’ll get used to it in no time! The rocking isn’t even that bad!” 

~ ~ ~ 

The rocking was bad, and Kenma spent most of the first day of their journey in the bathroom hovering over a toilet. Hinata tried his best to help, he rubbed his back and kept his hair out of his face and Kenma appreciated it, he did, but it really wasn’t helping and even though he hadn’t had anything to eat that day he still found stuff to spit out. 

When he was sure he was empty he stood up and washed out his mouth. His knees were hurting from kneeling for so long and his throat and eyes stung from all the strain put on them. Hinata had told him that he had chores to do but said he didn’t mind getting in trouble to stay with Kenma. The blonde didn’t like the thought of being a nuisance to others and told the ginger to go ahead, that he would be fine. Hinata looked hesitant but when Kenma gave him a stern look he moved to get up and promised he’d be back as soon as he was done.

Kenma silently cursed himself for being so weak. He hated not being in control of his body like this and wished he could sleep this whole trip away. 

His head was pounding and he moved to exit the bathrooms and almost ran into someone. 

“Ah Kenma, i’m glad you’re still here.” 

The blonde looked up to meet the eyes of the familiar boy an sighed in relief. 

Akaashi grabbed his arm and placed it over his own, helping the smaller boy walk back to his room and place him on the bed. 

“Here, take this.” Akaashi said holding out a small vile filled with clear liquid. “Hinata told me you weren't feeling well, this will help with the motion sickness.” 

Kenma eyed it but a particularly harsh movement of the boat had him reaching for the vile and pouring it down his throat. 

“Ah I should warn you-“ Akaashi starts but Kenma’s face is already twisting up in disgust and he starts to gag. “It doesn’t taste the best.” 

“Doesn’t taste the best?” Kenma scoffs. “That’s the worst thing i’ve ever put in my body.” 

He moves to drink a glass of water on his nightstand and downed the whole thing. 

“It doesn’t work right away, but soon enough you’ll find yourself not nearly as nauseous.” 

Kenma nods and breaths through his nose. He doesn’t feel any different and wonders if the liquid will really help him. 

“How do you travel so much? I never want to get on a boat in my life ever again.” 

Akaashi chuckles and sits next to Kenma on the bed. “It was a while before I could get on a ship without the medicine, but you get used to it.” 

“I would quit my job if I were you.” Kenma says. His face scrunches up when he thinks about how much time Akaashi spends on evil floating buildings. 

“I thought about it a million times.” Akaashi starts. “But I can’t quit doing my duty because of a little sea sickness.” 

“What is your job?” Kenma asks. 

Akaashi is as allusive as ever. “My job is whatever the king needs me to do.” 

“Thats rather undescriptive.” 

Akaashi gives him a small smile. “Yes, it is.” 

Kenma can take a hint. He can tell the tightness of the smile Akaashi is giving him is a silent way of saying ‘don’t ask anymore questions.’ And while Kenma is curious, his line of work, previous line of work, has taught him to keep his mouth shut. 

So he changes the topic. 

“How long will we be on this thing?” 

Akaashi chuckles. “Is it really that bad?” 

“Yes.” 

“Hmm.” Akaashi starts. “Well unfortunately the journey will take a while, but we will make numerous stops to stock up on supplies on the way.” 

Kenma couldn’t wait for those stops. 

“What does your country look like?” 

“You’ve never traveled before have you?” 

Kenma shook his head. “No, I’ve worked since I was young, I had no need to travel.” 

“Then I suppose explaining won’t be much help. Besides,” He explained. “I think it would be a lot better for you to see it with your own eyes.” 

He was a little frusterated, but if Akaashi was not willing to speak, then he wouldn’t. Kenma would just ask Shoyou later. 

~ ~ ~ 

“But why?” Kenma asked exasperatedly. 

“Akaashi-san said I wasn’t allowed to.” 

Kenma frowned. 

“But that’s not fair.” 

“I agree with him.” Hinata said. “It’s better if you just see for yourself.” 

Kenma hit his head on the railing behind his head. Him, Hinata and Kageyama were sitting out on the deck, Shoyou saying the blonde needed to get out of his room and smell the fresh air. 

Kenma only smelt salt. 

“I don’t want to wait though.” He said, trying to coax an answer out of the small male. 

“Just tell him something. Akaashi-san won’t know if no one tells him.” 

Hinata gasped. “Because bakageyama, imagine seeing it for the first time. Now imagine someone ruing it for you.” 

Kageyama lifted his gaze in thought as he pondered the scenario. 

He moved to look back at Kenma. “You should just wait.” 

Kenma huffed and leaned his body forward, placing his head in his hands. 

They had been traveling for two and a half weeks now and he spent most of his time with Shoyou. He talked with Akaashi when he could, but the man was always busy and they usually spoke in passing. 

Life on a ship was boring but his little orange friend made things easier. He would drag Kenma around the ship and point out fish he could see below the water. Kenma got his free time to relax and recharge when Hinata went to do his chores, and he even taught Hinata how to do the puzzles he had, though Shoyou had a little more trouble with them then Kenma did. 

On the third week the supplies were running low and they made a stop at a small port town. Kenma didn’t realize how much he missed stable land until his feet hit the dirt and he could’ve sighed in relief. 

Hinata had tried to drag Kenma into town to sightsee but Akaashi stopped him, telling the ginger that he still had to do his job and him and Kageyama grumpily turned to town to stock up on the ships necessities. 

Akaashi and Kenma strolled through the town and Kenma thought everything seemed fascinating. 

“This is the first town you’ve been in besides your own right?” 

“Yes, it’s much the same, minus the snow.” 

Akaashi nodded in understanding. “Well you’re town isn’t exactly abnormal, and we’re not to far away that the customs are widely different.” 

They walked all over the town and Kenma was grateful to stretch his legs, There was only so much space on a ship. 

There wasn’t much to see, Akaashi said that this town was only a shopping district where people came to trade goods, no body really lived in town but in a city further inland. 

They didn’t stay long. Akaashi said they wanted to make it back fast and get Kenma settled in before Akaashi had to leave again. 

When they got back on the ship, (much to Kenma’s dismay) Akaashi fetched a letter and tied it to the leg of a bird before sending it off. Kenma watched the bird soar out of sight and glanced back to the taller male. 

“An update,” Akaashi explained. “To tell where we are and how our progress is.” 

“And the second one?” 

Akaashi’s eyes widened a fraction in surprise before a smirk played at his lips. “A personal letter.” 

Kenma wondered who Akaashi would send a personal letter to, he didn’t think the raven would be one to have any close friends, but he knew better than to pry. 

Their journey continued on much the same as before. Walk around with Hianta and Kageyama, talk with Akaashi when he could, and spend the rest of the time in his room doing his puzzles, eating or sleeping. 

The only thing breaking up the monotonous journey were the days they stopped to restock. Each town was a little different than the last and Kenma found them a little more interesting than the one before. 

On the second month of the voyage Kenma was starting to go crazy. He started hating water, and all the salt filled boringness that came with it and the color of the brown ship made him want to gouge his eyes out. 

It was on the third month Kenma was a little surprised as he saw Akaashi out on the deck of the ship. It wasn’t the man himself which came a shock, but the clothes he was wearing. The people on the ship wore greys or browns, much like Kenma, but when he saw the man in front of him he noted the raven was wearing white under robe with a beautiful deep blue robe over it. 

“You’re wearing color.” Kenma said when he reached the man. Akaashi turned to look at him and nodded. 

“We’re getting close to my homeland, I feel now is an appropriate time to start dressing in my usual fashion.” 

“Why did you wait so long?” 

“The clothes I own are of high value, I didn’t wish for them to be ruined my months of travel on the sea.” 

Kenma didn’t understand not wanting to wear clothes he owned, but then again, he never dressed to look nice; only to not freeze to death. 

“So we’re close then?” Kenma asked. He really hoped the answer was yes and he could call the land his home instead of the rocking of the sea. 

“About a week to go now.” 

And seven days later Kenma was informed that they would be landing for good in a matter of hours. 

The anxiety he felt at those words were familiar, a forgotten friend that suddenly made its way back into his life, and all his questions were resurfacing. 

What kind of place was this new country?

What if he made a bad impression and everyone hated him?  
What would he do with this new life that he was forced to make? 

He was mid freak out when he heard a knock at the door and Hinata game bursting through it. 

“Kenma we’re here!” Hinata yelled and crashed into the blonde. 

“Oi dumbass, quit running into people.” 

“Shut up bakgeyama!” 

Kenma sat up when the weight of the small orange boy was no longer on him and saw Kageyama and Akaashi standing outside of his room. 

Akaashi motioned for Kenma to follow him and the blonde did so reluctantly. 

“I’ll send someone for your things.” He said when Kenma went to reach for the bag he packed earlier. 

Kenma thought he was looking forward to walking off the ship for good but found himself wishing he could turn tail and run back onto it. 

Of course he couldn’t and he’d be damed if he was to show just how terrified he really was now that the journey to his new home was over and he had to face the reality of the situation. 

It was dark outside but the boat workers had put up lanterns so they wouldn’t be moving in pitch black. Kenma looked at Hinata and Kageyama and noticed their attire had changed as well, wearing orange and dark blue robes recepectively. Kenma had never seen such colorful clothing and thought them to look a little strange. 

“The four of us will move now, the rest will come after everything is sorted out.” Akaashi said gesturing to them. 

They nodded and followed Akaashi to a large, very nice carriage and got in. Kenma had never ridden in so many nice carriages in his life, used to traveling on foot. 

“We should arrive in a couple of hours.” Akaashi said looking at Kenma. The blonde nodded in acknowledgement and the horses started moving, pulling their occupants along with them. 

~ ~ ~ 

Kenma was awoken by the gentle shake of hands and the loud squeal of “We’re home!” 

He rubbed at his eyes and blinked the sleep away, until he was left looking at empty seats in front of him and a blinding light to the left. 

“Kenma come on, you can see the town from here!” He heard Hinata yell from outside. He looked to his right to see Akaashi and the man gave him an encouraging nod, prompting Kenma to step outside and see the most amazing thing he had ever set his eyes on. 

The first thing he noticed when he stepped outside was what he was stepping on. Below him was not white like he had grownup with, nor was it the beige and brown of the places he had visited before, but green. The color was so vivid and bright Kenma felt like it might be too much for his eyes to take in. He bent down to the ground and touched the color, it felt soft and lightly scratchy beneath his hand, it felt wonderful. 

“What, never seen grass before?” Hinata sarcastically said. 

‘Ah, Kenma thought ‘So this is grass?’ 

“No, I haven’t” He said out loud. Hinata’s smile fell off his face and a look of disbelief crossed it. 

“How have you never seen grass before?” 

Kenma didn’t answer his question, instead moving forward a few feet to look at some brightly colored plants littering the ground. 

“These are..flowers.” 

“Yes.” Kenma hadn’t asked it as a question but Akaashi answered it anyways. “These are wild flowers, there are much more beautiful ones in the city.” He moved to crouch down next to the blonde and play with the petals. 

“I think these are plenty beautiful.” Kenma whispered, becoming embarrassed when he realized what he said. Akaashi didn’t make fun of him though, instead standing and pointing off in the  
distance. 

“If you walk a little further you can see the city.” 

Kenma did just that and did a light jog up the little hill in front of him. When he got to the edge he was standing on a little cliff and he looked down on the massive city below him. 

He was far away and couldn’t see many details but he could tell that the place was beautiful, he could see beautifully colored buildings and greenery all around, he could see the cobblestone streets and the…the…the floating islands? 

“Those…there’s…land in the air.” Kenma managed to spit out. 

“Akaashi stood a little behind Kenma and explained. 

“Ah, I suppose most people are curious about them.” 

Kenma was extremely curious, they were possibly the most amazing things he had ever seen. 

“How do they…?” Kenma started. 

“Well, logically, we don’t know. However,” he began. “There is a folklore about it.” 

“Folklore?” 

“Yes.” Akaashi started. “They say before people were made, the earth and the sun were in love, and they were for many years. Then one day the sun and the moon met, and realized they were meant to be together. The sun, still having feelings for earth, didn’t know what to do and the moon got so jealous he stabbed the earth, not enough to kill him, but just enough that he couldn’t fight when the moon took the sun and ran up into to the sky to be together.” 

Akaashi continued. “The earth was so in love with the sun that he tried to follow, but being as hurt as he was, he could only manage to raise a small part of him up, but his strength failed him any he didn’t get very far. When the sun found out she felt horrible and scolded the moon a lot, she said that she loved the moon and wouldn’t ever leave him. They both felt so bad that the sun promised to shine everyday to make the earth grow more strong and beautiful and the moon shined every night so as to never let the earth be in complete darkness, and as a way to repent for his sins.” 

“So,” Kenma asked. “Those islands are the part of the earth he tried to send up after the sun?” 

“Yes.”Akaashi confirmed. “And because of that, they’re very sacred places, no one but the royal family is allowed to go on them. “ 

“Hmm.” Kenma hummed. He couldn’t see what the tops of them looked like, he could only see the vines hanging off of them, but they were still breathtaking. 

“Lets go!” Hinata yelled and Akaashi turned and started walking toward the others. 

Kenma gave a last glance at his new home and prepared himself. This land was warm, much warmer than Kenma had ever felt and he quickly shed the outer layer of his robes. He lifted his arms out to the side of his body and tilted his head toward the sky. He felt the sun warm his skin and reveled in the light breeze that brushed his hair back. He had never felt such a warm feeling spread through his body, and as he looked across the lands covered in the green substance called grass, he, for the first time in his life, felt truly free. 

He heard a chuckle behind him and lower his arms so fast he threw himself off balance. Stumbling around he saw the small smile playing at Akaashi’s lips and Kenma felt his cheeks go red with embarrassment. He lowered his gaze to the ground, hair shielding his face from any prying eyes and hurried past the raven. 

“Let’s go.” He muttered and met back up with the other two. Hinata kept asking why Kenma’s face was so red which only made the poor boy more flustered and he all but ran toward the carriage. 

Once everyone was inside and thankfully no one was talking about Kenma’s face anymore, they made their way toward the city. 

“Kenma was looking at the ocean that hugged the side of the city and a thought popped in his head. 

“If the oceans right there, why didn’t we dock here?” 

“Because,” Akaashi explained. “You can’t see it, but theres a vast reef below the water. That’s one of the reasons this country is so well protected, no ship can enter directly.” 

“I see.” The more Kenma looked at the water the more entranced he got. This was nothing like the grey and murky water he had been sailing on so far, this water was crystal clear, such a light blue it almost matched the sky. Akashi was right, when the light bound off the waves, it was breathtaking. 

They made their way closer to the city and as Kenma stared out the window he caught glimpses of people littering about. The closer they got to the center the more people appeared and soon they were at a complete stop to accommodate the immense amount of people crowded around. 

Everyone was dressed in colors. Blues and yellows an oranges and purples and greens, everywhere he looked there was something popping out at him. Everyone was out and about, they were lounging at restaurants or window shopping, he even saw children playing in a fountain. It was such a contrast to his hometown that he felt a little dizzy. How miserable of a place did his country seem compared to this city? 

“This is the capitol city, so it’ the most densely populated. If you go further put in the country you’ll find there to be more space to breathe.” 

“There are more cities?” 

Akaashi nodded and Kenma was a little amazed. This place was so big, way bigger than his hometown and it was only the capitol? He had no idea how small and insignificant his country was until now. 

It took them a while to maneuver the streets but now they were heading up a hill, and stopping at the top. It seemed to be for good this time as once they were completely still all three other occupants moved to exit. 

“Hey, you'll be fine.” Akaashi said after seeing the panic flash over Kenma’s face. 

“That’s right, there’s nothing to worry about!” Hinata chimed in. 

Kenma really didn’t have a choice and so he reluctantly got out and watched as the carriage and his last hope of escape was driven away. 

Kenma took a large breath and faced his reality, as well as a huge castle head on. 

“We’re at a palace?” Kenma said dumbstruck. 

“We have to introduce you to our king, you’re a new resident to our country and your reasons for coming aren’t exactly…ordinary.” 

Kenma understood, he did, he just wished he could do anything other then meet the freaking king of the country. 

The three started moving toward the door and Kenma had no choice but to follow. 

The doors were giant and Kenma had to crane his neck just to see the top of them. When they opened before him Kenma almost thought they resembled the gates of hell. 

Of course, the place didn't look like any hell Kenma had ever heard about. The entrance hall was exactly the opposite actually, the walls were wood, or more specifically trees, with vines and flowers popping out all over them, when he looked up he could make out the leaves at the top and the vines hanging down over his head to gracefully sway in the breeze created by the opening wooden doors. The floors were just as impressive, the walkway being made out a soft moss and their were little streams and flowers running along either side of the walls. 

It took Kenma’s breath away. He felt as though he had been missing out all these years on the beauty that was nature. 

Though he would love to admire every crevice off the hall, he had places to be, no matter how much he didn’t want to go. 

Their party was continuing forward, apparently used to the magnificence before them as Hinata and Kageyama were bickering and Akaashi just looked impatient. 

When they reached the end of the entrance the hall split down to either side. The ground here changed to stone, but it was different from his old grey prison. The walls were were all open, allowing the sunshine and wildlife to flow through it. Kenma thought more than the castle being an open space it seemed more like the palace was breathing. The water from the previous space continued its course on the ground, and Kenma even saw fish swimming though it underneath the lily pads and flowers floating atop the water. 

‘The place really sticks with the nature theme.’ Kenma thought. 

In front of them was a small yet somehow grand staircase leading to a set of double doors. 

The party moved up that staircase and by the way everyones body language changed he could tell that this room was their destination. Immediately everyone was standing straighter, not exactly stiff, but everything was definitely more placed than before. 

The two guards standing in front of the door looked over the party and nodded in recognition. The door was opening when Akaashi moved to stand in front of Kenma. 

“Please stay calm, you have nothing to be afraid of.” 

Kenma was about to question why he said that, but they were moving and Kenma was scrambling to fall back in his place. 

Hinata and Kageyama fell to his left and right side, standing just a little behind him as they moved forward. 

This room was grand. Kenma had been in a throne room before, not with the best memories, but he did know that the one back home looked like a shack compared to this one. 

The first thing he noticed, the room was huge. The second thing he saw, the room was filled with just as much greenery as the rest of the place. There were vines running along all of the walls and the ceiling was nothing but dangling flowers. The back wall was the only one different, completely open besides a small rail, and Kenma could barley make out what looked like a garden behind it. The same water ran the sides of the room except this time they were accompanied by guards standing exactly the same width apart, all still and statue like as they did their jobs. 

There was a red runner taking up the center of the room and Kenma and party were walking down it, toward the back of the room where is fate would be sealed. 

Akaashi stopped and stepped slightly to the left to give Kenma the full view before him. 

The runner kept going up to a platform about five steps above them. This raised floor was home to the kings throne, a large yet comfortable looking thing made out of dark and shiny wood and covered in red cushions, small tables of red and gold decorated the sides of it. Above it was a canopy of fabrics, some were thick and heavy while others were sheer and light, they were all reds, blacks, whites, silvers and golds and they fluttered effortlessly to create a separate space for the throne. 

The light trickling in through the open wall and through the ceiling was playing off of the fabrics and catching them in the breeze causing them to sway slightly. Even though the decor was impressive, it wasn’t what caught Kenma’s attention. Sitting carefree on the throne and laughing with someone was a man. He seemed tall, though Kenma couldn’t tell as he was sitting. His hair was unruly, a mess of onyx upon his head and his skin looked like it kissed by he sun. 

When the man realized he had an audience he turned to face them and his eyes slipped past Akaashi and the others to rest on Kenma. They were a deep caramel color, but they were sharp, taking in everything Kenma was and digesting it. Kenma felt as if he were being dissected and wished to hide, the smirk playing at the others lips stopped him though. The man looked cunning, sneaky and had Kenma feeling uneasy, he didn’t trust this man, and felt he needed to keep his eyes on him at all times. 

They made made eye contact, and Kenma refused to look away. Though he didn’t have to worry as the mans gaze didn’t linger on his face for long. They slowly dragged them down Kenma’s body, but passed him to rest on Akaashi’s face. A more genuine smile played at his lips. 

“Akaashi, welcome back.” His voice was deep, yet there was a light playfulness to it. He seemed a contradiction, his dark appearance, with his black hair and dark clothing not matching the playful attitude he seemed to adopt. 

However it wasn’t Akaashi that answered. Instead, the man talking to who he assumed was the king whipped his head around and zeroed in on Akaashi. His gravity defying hair didn’t sway as he ran down the small set of stairs and engulfed Akaashi in his arms. 

“Akaashi! You’re back!” The man yelled. The raven got a small smile on his face and patted the man on the back. 

“Yes Bokuto-san, but I have work to do right now so I need you to let me go.” 

The man huffed but did as Akaashi asked, letting him free of his arms and stepping to his side. The man couldn’t seem to contain his energy as he bounced from foot to foot and his eyes were triained on Akaashi in a steady gaze. 

“Thank you for the welcome back your highness.” 

The king nodded and his eyes returned back to Kenma. “This is our…guest I suppose?” 

Akaashi nodded. “This is Kozume Kenma.” 

“Kenma.” The name rolled off his tongue and it made the blonde shiver. 

“Why does he look so pallid and…grey?” He continued and Kenma’s face twisted up at the adjective. 

“It’s the dress of the country Kuroo-sama.” Akaashi responded thankfully only to the question of his dress. 

“You had to dress like that Akaashi?” The man ‘Bokuto-san’ asked incredulously. He looked thoughtful for a moment before adding. “But I guess you’d look good in anything.” 

“I am flattered Bokuto-san” Kenma saw a slight blush on his cheeks, unnoticeable if you weren't as close to him as Kenma was. 

The man, who Kenma heard being called Kuroo-sama, stood up and descended down the stairs. He wore black and red robes, little silver details stood out in random places, and Kenma was right in his assumption, he was tall. 

He was also walking toward them. Kenma dropped his head and fiddled with his fingers; it was intimidating meeting the king of another country. 

Kenma had hoped Kuroo meant to greet the others, but Kenma didn’t seem to be in good graces with lady luck as he felt the man stop right in front of him. 

“Hmm,” He hummed in thought. “You’re a little different than I thought.” 

Kenma didn’t respond and was shocked when he saw a hand reach out and play with the ends of his hair covering his face. 

“It’s rude to not look at the person talking to you, you know.” 

Kenma paused, thought about the consequences of looking directly at a king, then slowly lifted his head. 

“That’s better.” Kuroo said. 

Kenma’s eyes met the caramel ones before him and searched them. They didn’t seem to have any hostility in them, only a slight curiosity. Kenma kept his gaze carefully blank so as not to give the man any hint of his emotions. 

His hair was being wrapped around Kuroo’s fingers and Kenma could feel the slight tug on his head. After rubbing it in between his fingers a couple of times Kuroo let his fair fall back around the blondes face and stepped back. 

“Hinata.” 

The small boy squeaked at suddenly being addressed and moved to stand next to Kenma. 

“Yes sir!” He yelled. 

Kuroo smiled at the boy. “You’re going to be in charge of our guest, show him to our nicest available room.” 

Kenma took a step forward. “I thought I was going to stay somewhere in town.” 

Kuroo smirked. “You’re here because you’re a murder suspect, of your own king no less, I need to keep an eye on you.” 

Kenma’s mouth felt dry and he couldn’t conjure up the words needed to speak of his innocence. 

He didn’t get the chance to try. “Hinata, now please.” 

“Yes sir!” Hinata jumped into action and dragged Kenma backwards and moved to exit the doors. 

“Ah, Kenma,” Kuroo spoke suddenly and the two of them stopped. Kenma didn’t turn around, just looked back little to acknowledge he was listening. He saw Kuroo’s figure out of the corner of his eye and grazed over the smirk placed on his face. 

“Welcome to Nekoma.” 

Kenma tuned back toward the doors and this time he was the one dragging Hinata after him. 

“Thank you Kuro-san.” 

And then he was in the hallway, walking toward his new room and future with a sense of uneasiness surrounding him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> P.S. I'd like to say while I do have a direction I want to go with this story, I wrote this to be a KuroKen fic. This is going to mostly focus on their relationship and not so much on the plot (though there is one.) I just wanted to say that because now that the starting drama is over, i'm really going to start focusing on the character relationships now. Thank you so much to all of you that keep reading! You're awesome! 
> 
> ~Ky~


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to everyone for making it to chapter 4! I'm having a lot of fun writing this and I hope you have a lot of fun reading it!

The palace was like a maze, twisting and winding around different gardens and hallways that all connected. They traveled up countless flights of stairs and though Kenma’s legs were starting to burn he couldn’t get over how amazing everything looked. There were flowers and greenery everywhere he looked, it was like nature and humans merged at this one spot and cohabited. 

Hinata led them down a smaller hallway that branched off of the main one and they stopped in front of a beautiful wooden door. 

“I’m pretty sure this is the room he meant.” Hinata muttered under his breath. 

The ginger shrugged and moved to open the door. Kenma walked into his new room and couldn’t believe his eyes, the room was large and beautiful, it looked like something out of a fairytale. 

The floor was mad of white marble and had gold flex in it that looked like veins streaming through the ground. On the left wall was a bed that was easily triple the size of his old one at home, the blankets and pillows following the white and gold theme. To the right side of the room was a large table and placed upon it were bowls of water with flowers and candles floating atop of it, the center of the table adorned with a vase full of plush red flowers and Kenma could smell their fragrance from where he stood. Just behind the table on the right was was a smaller door. 

“That leads to your bathroom and dressing room.” Hinata pointed out. 

The wall directly opposite of Kenma wasn’t a wall at all. These people seem to like their open concepts as he could straight out to the world from his room. White fabrics were pulled to either side of the open wall and when Kenma crossed the room he stepped out onto a huge balcony. The railing was curved into a half oval and their was a red cushioned bench running the length of it. Kenma reached the end of the balcony and looked over the edge. The ocean was right there, he could see the waves pulling onto the sand the height gave him the advantage to see miles across the horizon. 

“This is beautiful.” Kenma breathed. 

“Well I was told to give you our best.” Hinata happily chirped. “Come on, check out the rest of the place!” 

Kenma agreed because he frankly couldn’t wait to see more. they walked through the door on the right of the room and it led them to a small hallway with a door on either of the walls. 

Hinata opened the door to the left first and In it was a very large bath. It was extremely beautiful, all white marble and blue water but this room as the one before it was missing a wall. 

“There’s no wall…” Kenma stated, as if this was some mistake and Hinata had yet to realize it. 

“Don’t worry about it, we’re too high up for anyone to see. The people here really like the open air, so you’ll see a lot of rooms like this.” 

Kenma wasn’t sure if this was a custom he could get used too. 

“It may seem weird now, but when your relaxing in the hot water and looking up at the stars and down at the ocean it really makes you feel at one with the world.” 

Kenma had to admit that it did sound nice. 

The center door had let to the toilets and it was satisfactory. Large and adequate and immaculate. 

The right door was the dressing room and it was a little overwhelming with how large of a room it actually was. All of the walls were filled with beautifully colored clothes and accessories. In the middle was a large red ottoman and in the middle of the wall was a large white vanity. Kenma looked at his face in the mirror and grimaced. Life at sea had not done him well and now that he was properly looking at himself he noticed the darkness of his natural popping out at the top. Without the need to lighten it he had seemed to forgotten to do so, causing his hair to become multicolored. 

They walked back out to the main room and Kenma was pleased to find white bookshelves decorating either side of the bed. There were small end tables by the head of the bed and they were adorned with a lantern on each of them. There was a long cushioned white bench at the foot of the bed and Kenma stepped on it before turning and jumping back on the bed. 

He immediately sank into the soft cushion and was engulfed in the blankets. Kenma felt as though we were resting on a cloud, and wondered if it was truly possible for anything to be this soft. 

“I see you like it.” Hinata giggled when he saw Kenma rolling around on the large bed. 

“Yes, I like it a lot.” 

“Good.” Hinata said. “Because this is your new home from now on.” 

“Isn’t this a little much?” 

Hinata gave him a confused look. “Is what a little much?” 

“I mean,” Kenma began. “You heard them right, i’m here because the people of my country think I murdered my king.” 

“So?” Hinata said. 

“So? So, do you usually treat all murder suspects this lavishly?” 

“No,” Hinata countered. “But we do treat guests like this, and neither Akaashi-san or Kuroo-sama think that you’re some killer, so why should we treat you bad?” 

Kenma was about to complain more when Hinata added quietly. “This is your home now after all.” 

Kenma didn’t have any response to that because Hinata was right. This was his home now, why was he complaining when he was being treated as someone important? Did he want to be thrown into a cell again? 

“You’re right, of course. I’m sorry.” 

“Don’t apologize!” Hinata laughed. “I just want you to be comfortable you know?” 

“Thank you.” Kenma smiled, only a small tilt of his lips but Hinata’s own grew at the sight. 

“Oh! I almost forgot!” Hinata jumped up and Kenma could see the light come on in his head. “I’m supposed to get you fitted!” 

“Fitted?” Kenma questioned. 

“Akaashi-san mentioned that you didn’t have a lot of stuff coming with you. We tried to guess your size but Kuroo-sama told me to get you fitted when you came.” 

“Oh, you don’t need to do that…I already have clothes.” 

“Yeah, and no offense or anything, but they suck.” 

Kenma didn’t really know what to say to that because they were clothes and they had done their job by keeping him warm so how could they suck-

“I mean, they’re all grey and stuff, you look like a blob.” 

Blob? Kenma didn’t get Hinata sometimes. 

“Besides,” Hinata continued. “It’s the kings orders so, I mean I can’t exactly disobey them you know?” 

“Right,” Kenma agreed, because he did know that you can’t refuse an order from a king, and if he wanted to stay in the good graces of his new one, he should really go along with what the man said. “I understand.” 

“Great! I’ll be just a moment!” 

Kenma nodded but it was too late and the little ginger was already out of the room. 

He sighed and walked out to the balcony to stare at the ocean. He couldn’t see the town from here, figured it was meant to be private for any guests. The gentle sound of waves was the only thing Kenma could hear and He thought it was a nice sound; calming and relaxing. 

Kenma was sliding his hands across the bookshelves when Hinata came bursting in. 

“We’re back!” He yelled. Kenma saw the other part of “We” and bowed. 

The small blonde girl seemed flustered but bowed back, dropping one of the many fabrics in her full hands. 

“This is him! Make him look good!” Hinata patted her back and each hit had the girl lurching forward a bit. 

“O-of course!” The girl responded. 

Kenma walked toward the two and introduced himself. 

“Kozume Kenma.” He stated. 

“Huh? Oh-um, Yachi Hitoka. P-Pleasure to meet you!” The girl, Yachi, said. 

Kenma only nodded back and Yachi jumped and quickly got to work. 

“Hinata didn’t give me much time to prepare so I could only grab the bare necessities.” She started. “But Don’t worry, I can throw something together by tomorrow.” 

She took a measuring tape and started wrapping it all around Kenma’s body, writing down every number on a small sheet of paper. 

“You’ll have to wear some pre-made clothes for now, but I’ll be sure to make clothes just for you.” Yachi said as she stuck the end of the tape measure in her mouth. 

“Please don’t worry about it.” Kenma responded. 

The appointment of sorts didn’t take long, Yachi and Hinata chatted the whole time which helped the time to pass by quicker. When she was done with all her measurements she held scraps of fabrics up to Kenma’s face. 

“Do you have any color preferences?” Yachi asks. “Anything you feel makes you look good?” 

Kenma had never thought about what would make him look good before. “I’ve never worn colors before…I don’t know what’s supposed to look good.” 

Yachi gave him a horrified look. “Oh my gosh I’m so sorry! I totally knew that, i’m so sorry!” 

“Please don’t worry about it.” Kenma reassured. “Just choose whichever you think works best.” 

“Of course!” She exclaimed. “I’ll do my best!” 

Yachi gathered up her things and said her goodbyes. When Hinata asked her if he should come along she stopped him exclaiming “I’m inspired, I need to work now!” before running out of the room. 

“Well,” Hinata began. “Dinner should be ready in about an hour, what do you wanna do until then?” 

“Whatever you wish.” Kenma had responded. 

Hinata thought for a moment and decided they should just wander around a bit to let Kenma get a feel for the place. Kenma had agreed because he though it would be useful for later. 

They walked out of Kenma’s room and shut the door behind them. The palace was still confusing and when Kenma voiced this Hinata had only said that it wouldn’t take long to get used too. 

The palace was breathtaking, every walkway and corridor had something that met with the outside. Doors, windows, a simple lack of a wall, there were no dark corners and every surface was filled with life, light and warmth. 

It was also a lively place. While the servants quarters at Kenma’s home had been busy this place seemed more alive somehow. Everyone was doing something and yet they always stopped to talk with one another, laughter filled the corridors and even though people gave him a questioning eye when Hinata stopped to talk to them, hey left Kenma alone, which the blonde was appreciative of. 

Kenma didn’t know if he would ever get used to the amount of vivid color that everyone seemed to wear. And even more than the color of them were the types of clothing that adorned there bodies. There were no heavy coats and winter boots; people wore light and airy things, most of them walking around in sandals and it wasn’t uncommon to see people barefoot. Kenma was a little flustered at first, the people showed off their skin as if it was nothing, bare legs and arms were common here, even bare midriffs. The sight had Kenma sporting a shallow blush most of the time. 

The most startling difference was the people themselves. His home was full of people who were just trying to get to the top. Woman tried to make themselves the most beautiful, men trying to be the most powerful, even slaves like him only focused on themselves and doing their jobs; not that Kenma could blame them, he was exactly the same way. 

These people though, they didn’t look like they were in a rush. Everyone was nice to everyone, and no one had the sense of fear that presented itself in his old home. The people here seemed…happy, and Kenma thought that to be the most amazing thing of all. 

They had explored a good amount of the palace when Kenma saw a familiar head round the corner. 

“Hinata dumbass! Dinner’s ready and everyone’s wondering where the guest is!” He said as his eyes glanced to Kenma. 

“Oh crap!” HInata hiccuped and grabbed Kenma’s arm. “Cmon we’ve gotta hurry!” 

Kenma didn’t have a say as he was soon running full speed to try and keep up with the ball of energy in front of him. 

“Ha ha! Hinata are you late again?” Someone yelled as they passed by. 

“Shut up!” Hinata responded. The man couldn’t respond as they were rounding a corner and bursting through a pair of double doors. 

“We’re here!” Hinata yelled into the room. 

The place was big, both sides of the room not having a wall, causing a pleasant breeze to pass through the hall and the setting sun was a breathtaking view to have while eating. The opposite wall held another pair of doors, which opened when a couple of people came through it holding plates full of food. Kenma concluded that it must be the kitchen. 

The room itself was scarcely furnished. They walls and floors made out of the same white and gold flecked marble his room was, and a beautifully carved dark wooden table was in the center of the room, it comfortably sat ten people on each side and two on each end. 

Though their were not nearly that many people occupying it. They all sat at the far end of the table, the most right seat was taken by Akaashi, the man called Bokuto-san was seated next to him; and at the head of the table was… 

“Kuroo-sama.” Hinata said surprised. “You never eat your meals this early…” 

“Well,” The man began. “I figured since it was our newest residents first meal here I would attend.” His caramel eyes flicked to Kenma and his smirk widened a little more. 

“Please,” He gestured to the chair to his right. “Take a seat.” 

Kenma couldn’t refuse, no matter how uncomfortable it made him, so he slowly nodded and walked to his designated seat. He was about to move the chair when Kuroo spoke. 

“Lev!” The onyx haired man yelled. Kenma’s eyes snapped to a lanky silver haired man who immediately stepped toward him. 

“I’m sorry Kuroo-sama! I forgot!” Lev said and took Kenma’s hair and pulled it out for him. 

“Here you go!” The man yelled and Kenma flinched away from the loud sound. 

Kuroo noticed the unomfortable look Kenma was wearing and moved to explain. 

“He’s training to become one of my personal guards. I like to make sure my men know basic curtesy.” 

Kenma didn’t respond, only nodded and moved in front of the now awaiting chair. He was about to grab the arms when it suddenly scooted forward and hit the back of his knees. His legs collapsed and fell with a huff onto the chair. 

“Ow” He mumbled and rubbed the bend of his knees. 

“Lev, what did I tell you about being gentle.?” 

“Sorry Kuroo-sama!” 

Kuroo sighed. “I wasn’t the one you hit with a chair.” 

“Ah, sorry Kenma-san!” Lev said, well more like yelled, to the blonde. 

“Just Kenma’s fine.” He said while scooting his chair up to sit more comfortably at the table. 

“Go bak to your post Lev.” 

“Right!” The silver haired man saluted and moved to stand by one of the walls. 

“Since you’re finally here.” Kuroo looked pointedly at Hinata who chuckled nervously at the stare. “We can get started with our meal.” 

Food was being brought to the table and just the look of it had Kenma’s mouth watering, he hadn’t realized how hungry he was until he saw it just now. There were all kinds of meats and vegetables that Kenma had never seen before, but he wasn’t a picky eater and was sure they would all taste as delicious as they looked. 

Kenma looked toward Hinata to ask if he was going to join them but found that the red head had already disappeared out the door. Kenma was a little scared at being suddenly left alone, but remembered that Akaashi was at the table with him and found comfort in that. 

When the food was all placed on the table and the other occupants started dishing themselves up, Kenma tentatively reached for some food. He almost felt guilty, like he shouldn’t eat such a fancy meal for such high class people, but his hunger overcame his anxiety and soon enough he was plated and took his first bite. 

It was heaven. 

He had been right, the food tasted even better than it looked and he wasn’t exaggerating at all when he said it was the best meal of his life.

“Is it all to your liking?” Kuroo asked when he saw the small boy stuffing his face. Kenma grew embarrassed very quickly and slowed his pace down considerably. 

He duked his head down and used his fork to play around with his food. “Yes I do. Thank you Kuroo-sama.” 

“Don’t call me that.” He said and Kenma jumped in surprise. Had he done something wrong…? 

“I-I’m sorry?” He spoke quietly. 

“Call me what you did before.” The onyx spoke. 

Kenma thought for a moment. What he called him before? 

“Kuro.” He said out loud when he finally remembered the name he had used at their first meeting. 

Kuro’s smirk grew wider. “Yes, that. Just call me Kuro.” 

Kenma thought it highly disrespectful to call a king by a nickname he had said on the fly, but he figured it was less so then impolitely ignoring and order from one. 

“Can I call you Kuro?” Bokuto asked. 

Kuro and Akaashi both said “No.” At the same time. 

“Aww but why?” The man whined. He was stuffing his face but managed to keep an arm propped around the back of Akaashi’s chair as he ate. 

“It’s not polite Bokuto-san.” Akaashi said. He was eating as gracefully as he managed normal tasks even with Bokuto shaking him e erytime he moved. “Kuroo-sama is your king.” 

“But he was my friend before he was a king!” Bokuto complained. 

“And that is why you’re allowed to address him as Kuroo.” Akaashi countered. They went back and forth like his for a while, Bokuto complaining and Akaashi calmly explaining his reasonings. Even though the raven seemed to be annoyed Kenma could see the glint of happiness in his eyes. 

“Was this the person you sent that personal letter to?” Kenma had asked. Only after it was out of his mouth did he realize that he should consider what comes out of it as all the occupants of the tables eyes widened. 

“You told him about me Akaashi? I’m so touched!” 

“No, Bokuto-san, I merely mentioned that I had sent a letter that had nothing to do with work-“ But Bokuto didn’t listen, he only reached his head over and planted a big kiss to Akaashi’s cheek. 

Akaashi’s face got impossibly red and he turned to look the multicolored haired man in the eyes. “Bokuto-san, remove your arm and eat your food.” 

Bokuto’s gold eyes got large and he reminded Kenma of an owl. “Akaashi! Did I do something wrong?!” 

“Arm. Now.” Akashi spoke and he turned and began to eat his food again. 

Bokuto complained but still removed his arm, he kept asking Akaashi what he did but the raven ignored him, concentrating on his food and Kenma felt as if he mentioned something he shouldn’t have. 

“Don’t worry.” Kuro said to him.” They’re always like this.” 

“Is it common for people to kiss others so casually here?” Kenma asked. 

Kuro looked a little surprised but answered anyways. “I suppose if they’re lovers it’s rather common, yes.” 

Akaashi’s face went a little bit redder and Kenma couldn’t keep his curiosity to himself. 

“Lovers? But Akaashi and Bokuto-san are both men.” 

The table went quiet, even Bokuto stopped his continuous chatter and looked over at him. Kenma shielded his face with his hair and stared at his now spare plate. 

“Does that bother you?” Bokuto asked, his voice was hard and his eyes narrowed at the blonde sitting across the table. 

“Stop it.” Akaashi whispered an elbowed Bokuto’s side, but the owl didn’t flinch. 

Kenma thought for a moment before coming to a conclusion. “No.” He said. 

Bokuto’s body relaxed and he even put his arm back around Akaashi’s chair. 

“Is your country against same sex couples Kenma?” Kuro asked him. 

Kenma shook his head. “I wouldn’t know.” He said. “I’ve never heard anyone mention anything about it.” 

Kuro nodded his head. “Your country is small, I suppose they wouldn’t be so open about such topics.” 

Kenma thought back to his small and grey home and wondered why even in all his years as a favor runner he hadn’t caught wind of anyone having affairs with someone of the same sex. The concept was foreign but Kenma thought that it didn’t matter to him who other people chose to spend their time with. 

Their conversations went back to more normal topics, mostly consisting of Bokuto asking Akaashi how his trip was. They were all finished with their food and the servants came to take their plates away before putting down new ones. 

“What is this?” Kenma asked. In front of him was a triangle of what looked like bread, with brown goo in the middle. It didn’t look as appetizing as the main course did. 

“It’s dessert.” Kuro said. “We’re having apple pie, our countries specialty.” 

Apple pie? Kenma had had apples before but he was sure they were never brown. and he had no idea wha a pie. was; he didn’t want to be rude however and he took a tentative bite. 

His pupils blew wide and his mouth felt happy, the spices and sugar covered the apples and the whole thing was soft and warm, melting right in his mouth. The crust was crispy and flaky and Kenma thought that if heaven was a food he was sure it would be this one. 

“I’m glad you enjoy it.” Kuro chukled and Kenma didn’t even grace him with a response. He focused all of his senses on the beautiful concoction before him and found that too soon it was gone and he was left staring at the bottom a plate. 

He frowned a little and Kuro laughed at him. Kenma tipped is gaze up to glare at the onyx man but found him already staring at the blonde. 

His stomach dropped at the serious face the taller man was giving him and it practically flew away when his hand reached out toward Kenma’s face. 

This dinner was fine and all, Kenma didn’t feel scared by the man the whole time which was nice but rude or not he didn’t want to be touchy feely with him and made that clear when he backed up slightly. Kuro froze and Kenma thought his eyes seemed a little bit softer somehow. Kuro continued moving suddenly and tugged on the end of Kenma’s hair gently.

“You have pie on your face.” He said before retracting his arm and Kenma felt a light blush spread through his cheeks. ‘How embarrassing.” He thought and wiped his mouth with the cloth that had been set out next to him. 

Everyone was done with the meal and Kuro announced his departure, saying the needed to get back to work. He bid them all a goodnight and his eyes lingered on Kenma a bit when they said theirs back. 

When he was out of the room Kenma relaxed his shoulders, not realizing how tense he’d been the whole time. Being around kings was bad for his health. 

He moved to stand when Akaashi and Bokuto did, averting his eyes when the owl-like man brushed his fingers over his lovers. 

‘Lovers.’ Kenma thought. ‘How odd.’ 

The blonde hadn’t thought Akaashi would ever have a lover, and certainly not one as rambunctious as Bokuto. The man practically vibrated as he stood next to Akaashi, talking a mile a minute about meaningless topics. Akaashi was the picture of indifference, save for the look he had whenever he stared at the man next to him. It was a different side to the man he had come to know, but it was a pleasant one. 

They exited the dining room and Hinata bounced off his place on the wall. “Kenma! How was it?!” 

“Good.” Kenma said. The ginger fell in step with him and began leading their way back to Kenma’s room. 

They parted ways with Akaashi and Bokuto, eventually saying goodbye and Kenma’s eyes lingered long enough to see Akaashi slip his fingers between Bokuto’s. He continued walking, feeling like he was intruding on a personal moment between the two of them and focused his attentiion to the ramblings of Hinata. 

They made it back to Kenma’s room and the blonde was starting to feel tired after the days events. He was planning on heading straight to his heavenly new bed but Hinata wasn’t leaving and Kenma looked at him questioningly. 

“You should take a bath, don't you think?” Hinata asked. 

Kenma hadn’t even thought about bathing, but the prospect seems too tempting to turn down; nodding his head he began to make his way to the bathroom. 

Kenma realized the red head was still following him and when he closed the door behind the both of them, the blonde asked him why he was staying. 

“I’m in charge of you now!” Hinata explained. “Which means in return for giving my previous responsibilities to someone else, I have to turn all my attention to you.” 

The prospect of being doted on was off-putting to Kenma, but he didn’t want Shoyou to get in trouble because of him and agreed to let him to his job. 

Hinata prepped the water, and as it began to heat up he looked through a few bottles on the shelf. Turning toward Kenma he held some of them up. “What scents do you like?” 

“I…I don’t know?” 

Hinata nodded like he expected that answer and looked over the bottles before picking one up. 

“I’m gonna pick rose.” He said uncapping the bottle and pouring some into the warming water. The small wafted up through the air and Kenma was pleased to find that it wasn’t an overpowering perfume like scent, rather a nice add on to the already sweet air. 

Hianta put the bottle back on the shelf and walked over to Kenma. Taking hold of his robes he started to undress the boy. 

“Um…” Kenma said and pulled Hinata’s hands away from his clothes. 

“What?” Hinata asked. “You can’t bathe when you have clothes on.” 

“I can do it myself.” Kenma muttered. These people really had no sense of privacy. 

“But you said you’d let me do everything! It’s fine, we’re friends right? Nothing to worry about.” Hinata gave him a warm smile and it made Kenma feel better. Hinata was right, they were friends; besides, he should really let Hinata do his job. 

He nodded and Hinata started to undress him. He started slowly, making sure Kenma was comfortable. When all of his clothes were on the floor Hinata took his hand and led him too the water. He bent down and dipped his fingers in, making sure the water wouldn’t burn the blonde. When deemed an acceptable temperature Kenma slowly dipped his body into the water and relished in the feeling. The water worked away at the tightness in his muscles and melted the stress right out of him. He hadn’t had such a relaxing bath in months, and the size of the tub let him spread his limbs out. He remembered that this bath wasn’t shared, meaning he could stay in until the water turned cold and his skin grew wrinkly, the thought made him smile. 

The oils Hinata had put in the water worked its way up and into his skin, smoothing out the roughness caused by months of travel. Hinata moved to sit behind Kenma and dipped a clothing the water. He rung it out over Kenma’s head and effectively drenched his hair. Kenma heard the sound of another bottle being opened and felt Hinata’s hands start to work their way through his hair. It felt nice, he wasn’t used to being pampered and if he really thought about it he was sure to get embarrassed, but right now he figured he should let his mind and body relax. 

Hinata poured more water over his hair, rinsing it from the fragrant cleansing oil he used. He got up and picked Kenma’s clothes off of the floor. He was about to leave when Kenma spoke up. 

“Where are you going?” 

“I need to prepare your clothes for bed.” He responded. “Besides, I thought you could use some time to yourself. I won’t be long.” 

Hinata left and Kenma sunk deeper into the water. The day had been long and there had been many new stimuli that he had to deal with. Now that he was here, settled in his new home his mind began to wonder. ‘What do I do?’ He thought. His old life had been monotonous sure, tedious even, but he had a clear sense of purpose. He was a favor runner, he had a job to do and he knew how to do it. His whole life had been this way and now that he was suddenly ripped from his routine he didn’t know what to do. 

Akaashi had brought him here because there was no other way to keep Kenma alive. Kenma was grateful, he really was; and this new home didn’t seem as bad as he originally thought but he would feel so useless if he was just a freeloader. He didn’t have a large skill set either, his whole life being a favor runner meant he was only good at that, but as Hinata pointed out they used birds to deliver messages here, there was no need for his skills. 

Kenma dunked his head under the water. His face burned but he didn’t care, never in his life had he felt so lost. His life used to have purpose yes, but never meaning. Kenma was fine with that though, he never had to think about anything regarding himself, just stick to his schedule. 

Dwelling on this wasn’t any good, so he lifted his head back up to the surface and gasped for air. He looked out to the sky, twinkling with the first few stars of night. It was not quite dark yet, the sky was still littered with oranges, pinks and purples and Kenma offhandedly thought that even the sky was one to wear color here. 

He could hear the waves crashing on the beach, no other sound making its way into his ears and he thought that it was rather therapeutic. The day was winding down and so were the people, he could feel a sense of rest coming over the country and he felt it in himself too. 

Hinata came through the door a while later and asked if he was ready to get out. Kenma nodded sleepily, standing up and stepping out of the water. The place was by no means cold but the blonde still felt himself shiver as the air touched his bare skin. 

Hinata wrapped a fluffy towel around his body and dried him off. Kenma followed him into the dressing room where the ginger helped him into a plain white sleeping robe. They made their way to the main room and Kenma didn’t waste anytime climbing into his new bed. 

He sighed, the bed really was the most comfortable thing he had ever put his body on. He said his thanks to Hinata and bid him a goodnight and the small boy did the same. He heard the door close and pulled the covers up over himself. He thought the size of his resting place was a little excessive. He was no where near any of the edges, but he thought he might as well enjoy it. He slept like he usually did, curled in on himself in a tight ball; even though the need for warmth was not prevalent he still found it the most comfortable. 

He faced the open wall, the light breeze felt nice on his face and he inhaled deeply. This place smelt warm, like lightly roasted marshmallows, and he thought it fit in well with he surroundings. He wished to keep his eyes open, to enjoy the dark yet beautifully star decorated sky, but sleep was calling him and he felt his eyes starting to slip down. When they were to heavy to fight he let them; feeling his consciousness slip away he drifted off into sleep, dreaming of large oceans, colorful skies and new desserts. 

~ ~ ~ 

Kenma woke up to the smell of food. Groaning and stretching his body out he flipped over and cracked his eyes opened to see Hianta holding a tray. 

“Yay you’re awake! Want to eat?” 

Kenma yawned and sat up. “Yes please.” He mumbled. 

Hinata brought the food over to him and set it down in front of him. “What should we do today?” He asked. 

“Don’t care.” Kenma said. The food was good, and it wasn’t long until it was all gone. 

“Hmm, maybe we can go to the gardens today! Go get washed up and we’ll head out!” 

Kenma was used to Hinata’s unwavering energy even early in the morning and knew better than to argue. he moved to his bathroom to do his early morning business and wash out his mouth. 

“Kenma!” He heard Hinata yell. “Come here!” 

Kenma finished up and walked out to see Hinata and Yachi standing together and chatting away. 

“Yachi has your clothes!” Hinata said excitedly pointing to the exhausted looking girl to his right. 

“I stayed up all night to finish this.” She said. “I hope you like it.” 

Kenma reassured her that he would, though he still didn’t understand why it mattered; if it fit him and kept him covered then he was sure that he would find it adequate. 

Hinata took he cloth from Yachi’s hands and ran to the dressing room. 

“C’mon!” Hinata yelled and Kenma followed him. 

Helping him out of his sleep robes and into his new ones was easy, as both of them were exceptionally light. The fabric was airy and soft, gliding over Kenma’s skin and settling on his body. 

Hinata tied the sash around his waist and stood in front of him, inspecting the cloth. 

“I like it!” Hinata finally declared as he moved out of the way and pushed Kenma toward the mirror so he could inspect himself. 

The thing fit him like a glove, settling on all the right places. It was more tight fit than anything Kenma had ever worn before, but then again, he never dressed to look good, only layered to keep warm. 

It wasn’t as extravagant as some of the other robes he had seen people wearing. It was a pure white color, with a red and silver leaf pattern decorating the sleeves and bottom, bleeding up into the center. The sash was red and long, the sleeves large and flowy giving the whole thing a very free and breezy look. All in all Kenma felt very dressed up, yet he found the thing beautiful and was glad it didn’t seem to look silly on him. 

“Does it fit?” Yah asked as she lightly knocked on the door. Hinata let her in and she inspected her work. 

“Good, it isn't too big.” She said. 

“I didn’t know what you liked, and I didn’t have a lot of time to think about it so I just used the Nekoma colors. Is it okay?” She questioned. 

“Yes.” He replied. “It’s a very beautiful piece.” 

Yachi smiled. “Thank you. Now if you’ll excuse me, I really need some sleep.” She bowed once and left the two of them there. 

“Since your dressed let’s go!” 

They walked out of the room and Kenma once again noticed that everyone they came across greeted Hinata and gave small smiles and little bows to Kenma, he bowed back in politeness but Hinata was always chatting away before long. 

It took them a while to get down to the garden Hinata had talked about, the ginger seemed to know everyone in the castle and had short chats with all of them. 

The gardens were beautiful though, with big trees and more flowers gathered than he could even fathom. Hinata seemed to have the time of his life just running around and even though he fell a few times he always laughed. Kenma was having fun, he found that one thought to be a little exiting, he had never had this much fun before. Even though they weren’t doing anything much, just spending time with a laughing idiot had his mouth turning up and he even chased after Hinata. 

They were both out of breath when Hinata’s eyes shot open wide. “Oh crap I forgot!” 

“You seem to forget things a lot.” Kenma said as he sucked in air. 

“No I really forgot! Kuroo-sama told me to bring you to him when you woke up!” 

Kenma froze. Why did he have to meet the king so often. It was only his second day here, why couldn’t he just fade into the background? 

“Why does he want to see me?” 

“How should I know?” Kenma there his hands above his head. “He just tells me what to do and I do it.” 

“Unless you forget about it.” 

“Why are you so mean?!” Hinata whined. 

“Don’t we have somewhere to be?” 

“Follow me.” Hinata grumbled something about not always forgetting things as they made there way to meet Kuro. 

They were walking inside when they crossed path with Kageyama. 

“Kageyama! Where is Kuroo-sama?” 

Kageyama jumped at the sudden loud noise and whipped his head toward Hinata. 

“Huh? In the throne room, why? Hey! dumbass-“ 

“Thanks Bakageyama!” Hinata said as he glided right past him. The taller man grimaced and started following the two. 

“Why are you looking for Kuroo-sama?” 

“None of your business.” Hinata sang. 

“What the hell…” Kageyama grumbled. 

They turned off of the main hallway and down a much smaller, more secluded one. 

“Wait!” Kageyama grabbed the back of Hinata’s robes to get him to stop. “You can’t go in yet-“ 

“I’m not going in, Kenma is!” Hinata ripped his clothing out of Kageyama’s grip and pushed Kenma toward a door. 

“He’s through there!” 

“That’s not what I meant-!” Kageyama started. 

“Don’t worry about it!” 

Hinata pushed Kenma through the door and shut it behind him. He was in the throne room, coming through what he assumed was a private entrance on the right side of the room. He wasn’t the only person in it though; Kuro was there, sitting in his throne with Akaashi and Bokuto on his left. Lev was there too, standing behind a man who was kneeling on the floor, roughly 3 meters from the throne. 

All eyes immediately went to him and Kenma felt like climbing under a rock and dying; He was going to kill Hinata later. 

Unfortunetly he could neither hide nor retreat, so he duked his head down and spoke quietly. 

“I-I’m sorry for interrupting-“ 

“Kenma!” Kuro suddenly spoke. “I’m glad you made it, I’m sorry but would you mind waiting for a bit?” 

Kenma shook his head. 

“Great, you can sand over here and wait.” 

Kenma glanced up to see Kuro motioning to the right of him. He moved slowly, unsure and embarrassed to death but stood a good couple of feet away from the man. 

“I apologize.” Kuro addressed the man. “You may continue.” 

“Oh, of course, thank you your highness. As I mentioned, Some of my cows have recently gone missing.” 

“They were eaten by wolves perhaps?” Kuro questioned. 

“No your highness, there were no carcasses.” 

Kenma’s eyes widened a bit. 

“What time do you think they were taken?” Kuro asked. 

“Someime during the night, after 8pm and before 6am.” 

“And you’re sure they didn’t escape somehow?” 

“No my lord.” The man spoke. “They were all locked up in the barn, I locked it up myself.” 

Kenma hurridly made his way to Kuro. He didn’t get very close, as Bokuto’s hand wrapped around his wrist to stop him. 

“Sorry.” He said. “It’s my job and all.” 

“Let him go.” Kuro said, and Bokuto did so immediately.

Kenma approached the throne cautiously, so as to not spook anyone. Kuro’s eyes were on him and he was eyeing the blonde up and down. The gaze made him uncomfortable, but he still slightly bent over to bring his face close to Kuro’s, making sure to keep his voice quiet. 

“He’s lying.” 

Kuro’s eyes widened at the initial closeness and widened even more when he registered what Kenma said. 

“How do you know?” 

“Look at him.” Kenma said. Kuro obeyed and turned is attention back to the man kneeling before him. 

“Ask him when his cows were stolen.” 

“When were they stolen.” Kuro immediately asked. 

The man gave them a curious look but replied anyway. “Between 8 and 6 my lord.” 

“He touched his nose didn’t he?” 

Kuro looked back at him and nodded slightly, a look of confusion of his face. 

“Ask him what he had for dinner, tell him to describe it.” 

Kuro’s gaze seemed even more confused, but he still complied. 

“What did you have for dinner last night? Tell me everything you ate.” 

Everyone was staring at them in confusion. Akaashi looked at Kenma for some sort of clue and Bokuto and Lev looked at Kuro like he was crazy. The man gave them a confused look, but he answered Kuro’s question. 

“My wife made stew, chicken and potatoes, we also had greens on the side and drank milk, but my lord, I don’t understand-“ 

“Again. Ask him when they were stolen.” 

Kuro looked at him with a quiet desperation but Kenma’s face was set, entirely serious. Kuro sighed, but asked again. 

“What time were your cows stolen?” 

The man looked a little frustrated. “Like I said my lord, between 8 and 6.” 

“Did you see it?” Kenma asked. 

Kuro looked back to his face, searching his eyes. “See what?” 

“He moves his arms when he speaks. When describing his meal he used gestures, moved forward a little and raised his eyebrows. When he tells you the time his cows were stolen he becomes still, no movement in his arms or face.” 

“So?” Kuro said. 

“Those are all signs of lying, same with touching your nose.” 

Kuro looked like he didn’t believe him and it frustrated Kenma. 

“Let me try one more time, and if you don’t believe me you can do whatever you want.” 

Kuro still looked at him in disbelief, but he wasn’t sending Kenma away, so he continued. 

“Ask him if his meal was good. Then ask him if he locked up the barn. When people are telling the truth the will nod simultaneously with the statement they’re making, When they’re lying, there will be a delay between the statement and their nod.” 

“Fine.” Kuro turned back to the man and Kenma saw his eyes sharpen to focus, his gaze not wavering and focusing only on the mans face. 

“Did the meal taste good?” 

The man nodded and replied. “Yes your highness, my wife is a very good cook.” 

“Did you lock your barn up at night?” 

The mans eyes widened. “Yes, I did.” He finished his statement, then came the slow nod of his head. 

“Holy crap.” He heard Kuro say. 

Just as Kenma promised he stood up and backed away to his original poison. He told Kuro he wouldn’t interfere anymore and let him make his own decision, and so he simply stood there and watched, curious as to what the outcome would be. 

“How many cows do you own?” 

“Seven.” The man replied. 

“And how many were taken?” 

The man moved his hand up and brushed his fingers across his nose. 

“Three, my lord.” 

Kuro’s face twisted in a smirk; Kenma saw something akin to glee bubble in his eyes. 

“Cows are very expensive, i’m surprised you own so many.” 

“I had four of my own, one was gifted for my wedding and the others two for the birth of my children.” 

Kenma watched as Kuro’s eyes zeroed in on the hands that were moving about as the explained. Kenma thought his smile wold look absolutely sinister if not for the apparent joy clouding the rest of his features. 

“Why did you come here today?” The look in Kuro’s eyes was making the man nervous, Kenma could tell. He hastily wiped the sweat beading down his temple. 

“My-my lord-?” 

“What do you wish for me to do? Send out a search party? use the hunting dogs?” 

The man gulped. “No my lord-“ 

“You wish for me to even out you damages correct? Give you three of our cows to accommodate yours?” 

The look on Kuro’s face was one of absolute bliss, Kenma could tell it was a high given by having the upper hand in a situation, he’d seen it plenty of times before. 

“We need those cows to live my lord, I have a family to support.” 

“And if I went to your house, I would only find four cows in your barn?” Kuro continued. 

“Yes.” 

“And if I went to your neighbors?” The man froze and the sneer on Kuro’s face grew. 

“I wouldn't know-“ 

“Three cows are worth a lot of money, if you sold them and split the cost, you would still end up with quite a lot.” 

The man was sweating profusely now and his throat bobbed as he tried to swallow the lump in his throat. Kuro leaned far forward in his chair, looking the man in the eyes he spoke lowly. 

“I think you’re lying to me.” 

“I-I’m sorry my lord! I just thought-“ 

“Thought you could fool me? Thought you could cheat the system and provoke my sympathy while making a little cash? It’s seems as though your efforts have failed, what should I do with you I wonder…?” 

Kuro leaned back in his throne and rested his elbow on the arm of it. Throwing one leg over the other and resting his chin on his hand he was the picture of relaxed. The high chest and sinister smile gracing his face were more than enough to remind you of his status, and the glint in his eyes were enough to make any man tremble in submission. 

“Should I take him to the dungeons my lord?” Lev asked. 

“No.” Kuro spoke. Looking directly at the man he uttered “Let him go.” 

Everyone stared at him in shock, Kenma included. 

Akaashi moved toward him now. “My lord are you sure that’s wise-?” 

Kuro held up a hand to silence him. 

“Since I am a merciful king I decided that you will not be killed for lying and attempting to rob me; I won’t even put you in jail.” 

“Thank you.” The man sobbed. “Thank you so much-“ 

“Instead,” Kuro interrupted. “I will make it known throughout the country what you have done, you may even brag that you almost got away with it if you wish.” 

“My lord if you do that, my whole family will be shunned, we’ll become a laughing stock-“ 

“I am letting you walk out of here unharmed, letting you go back to provide for your family; do you wish to test my mercy?” 

“No my lord, thank you my lord.” The man scuttled up and was hurriedly walking toward the door. The guards were about to open it when Kuro’s voice made them stop. 

“And one more thing.” 

The man turned back to Kuro with fear and tears in his eyes. 

“The cows you handed over to your neighbor for the time being,” Kuro began. His eyes narrowed as he spoke his last words. “I believe we should leave them there.” 

The man let out a sob and quickly ran out the barley opened doors. 

They were all silent for a moment when Akaashi spoke. “I will finish the writing documents of this and file them.” 

Kuro nodded and Akaashi beckoned Bokuto to follow him. His eyes glazed over Kenma’s as they passed him, both looking confusedly at the blonde. 

“Come with me.” Kuro said. Kenma glanced at the taller male to make sure he was in fact talking to him. 

When Kuro got up and started walking toward Kenma, he lowered his face, bowing slightly in respect. The onyx passed by him, almost brushing shoulders and Kenma was engulfed in the smell of the man. He smelled of peppermint and citrus; a light fragrance that mixed well with the more indulgent musk that made up its undertones. 

He turned to follow behind the man, making sure to keep a good couple of feet between them. 

“Wait!” He heared Lev yell. They both turned to see the large man running toward them. 

“You’re free Lev, go spend your day training or take a rest.” 

“But, since Bokuto-san is gone, at least I should guard you! You shouldn’t be left without protection!” 

“I’ll only be in my office, no harm will come to me.” Lev seemed to want to argue more but the stern look Kuro gave him had him reluctantly walking away from the two. 

Kuro started walking again, startling Kenma but he followed him anyways. They walked through the door Kenma had been pushed through, continuing down the walkway, past the turn to reach the main hallway of the palace until they came to a set of doors. 

The guards there opened them as soon as they saw Kuro, and Kenma bowed as he passed them by. The room was big, a large table was in the middle of the room. It was littered with papers and so were the bookshelves that lined the walls behind it. The left side of the room was furnished with a cushioned bench, and the right side had a table with refreshments on it. Above it was a window that Kuro went over to open before whirling around to face Kenma. 

“That was so cool!” He exclaimed. Gone was the menacing and cunning king who had sat upon the throne, here before him was only a man with exited and curious eyes. 

“What?” Kenma replied smartly. 

“He was totally gonna get away with it if you didn’t say anything! It was really smart on his part, people often steal animals when someone has an abundance of them, I never would have questioned it!” 

“Oh…okay…” 

“That was amazing Kenma! Where did you learn all that?” 

Kenma felt himself grow flustered at the sudden compliment. “I just…watched people…I guess…” 

“Well it really helped me out! Oh man I was so confused at first, I’m sure glad you came when you did.” 

Speaking of. “Why did you call for me?” 

Kuro noticed the lack of willingness for his praise and followed the subject change quickly. “Ah, I just wanted to know how your first day went. Is your room to your liking? Is there anything you wish to change?” 

The look on Kenma’s face was clearly annoyed. “It’s fine.” 

“Oh, I also wanted to give you these.” Kuro moved to pull something out from underneath the random papers on his desk. He handed a couple of small books to Kenma, who took them with uncertainty. 

“Akaashi said that you really liked puzzles, but you didn’t have that many with you. I figured you must be bored of the ones you have…” 

Kenma flipped open the book to see all different kinds of puzzles, these would keep him busy for weeks and they all looked so exiting and hard. 

“Thank you.” He said quietly, closing the books. 

“I picked them out but I don’t ever do things like that so I hope they’re okay.” 

“They’re perfect.” Kenma wss embarrassed as soon as it came out of his mouth but he wasn’t lying; it really was the perfect gift for him. 

“You seem really smart for a…wait how old are you?” 

“I’m seventeen.” He said as he reopened the books and looked more at the contents. 

“I’m only one year older than you.” Kuro said surprised. 

Kenma looked up through his lashes. “Isn’t eighteen a little young to be a king?” 

“Isn’t seventeen a little young to be an assassin?” 

Kenma lowered his gaze back to his books. 

“Well,” Kuro said. “I stayed up all night working so i’m pretty exhausted, but I wanted to give those to you today.” 

Kenma nodded. “Thank you.” 

“You’re not going to tell me to be careful? Everyone’s always worried that i’ll overwork myself.” 

Kenma kept flipping pages. “Be careful.” 

“You don’t sound like you care much” 

“I don’t.” 

“How blunt.” 

Kenma flipped a page. “Why should I care? It’s none of my business.” 

Kuro gasped and placed a hand over his heart in fake offense. “You wound me!” 

“Can I leave now?” 

Kuro reached over and twirled a piece of Kenma’s hair between his fingers. “I suppose I don’t have a reason to keep you here anymore.” 

“Hmm” was the only response he got. 

“The clothes look good on you by the way.” 

Kenma’s head snapped up and he looked into those deep caramel eyes. Kuro dropped his hand, letting the loose strands of hair go to dangle around Kenma’s face once more. 

Kenma quickly turned around and walked toward the doors, books in hand. 

“Goodbye Kenma.” 

The blonde paused a moment, then pushed the doors open. 

“Goodbye Kuro.” 

As Kenma walked down the hall the only thing he could thing of was how much he hated the way his body shivered when his name rolled off of Kuro’s tongue. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you again for taking the time out to read this fic of mine. Every one of you that reads makes me so happy, and i'll continue to write a (hopefully) entertaining story that you will enjoy. That you all so so so much, and i'll see you at the next chapter! 
> 
> ~Ky~


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey...so this chapter sucks. I don't know if it's because of some type of writers block or because i'm just not really great at writing but I just wanted to warn you all that this chapter is mediocre at best. I hope you'll still stick around with me though. Thank you to all of you who continue to read this!

Kenma’s life was going pretty smoothly. While he did feel a little uncomfortable at basically being a freeloader, his new home wasn’t bad, and he couldn’t complain much. Akaashi was as busy as usual; but it was fine, Kenma hung out with Hinata more. 

He’d gotten pretty bored over the past week though. Ever since the whole “cow” incident as it was referred too, nothing much has happened. Kenma had asked if he could accompany Hinata on his daily tasks and the red head eagerly agreed. That’s where he found himself now, in the washing room, talking to Shoyou who was washing his dirty laundry. The blonde had offered to do it, then asked if he could even help but of course the smaller boy refused, saying it was his job. 

Now they sat, and as Hinata scrubbed his clothes Kenma was sitting next to him, absently toying with his robes as Shoyou babbled on about trivial topics. The ginger was eager to talk and accepted the fact that Kenma wasn’t the best at responding. Kenma really liked that part about his friend. 

Hinata was complaing about Kageyama, something about how he always yelled at the red head for not cleaning correctly, when someone entered the room with them. 

Hinata immediately stood up and bowed to the newcomer; Kenma stood up as well when he saw who it was. 

“Akaashi-san good morning!” Hinata chirped. Akaashi gave his morning greetings and turned his gaze to Kenma. 

“Are you busy?” 

Kenma shook his head because he could hardly describe watching Hinata wash his clothes as being busy. 

“You’ve been requested by Kuroo-sama, if you’d please follow me.” 

The tone of Akashi’s voice was very business like and put Kenma on edge, not as much as being summoned though. 

Kenma said goodbye to Shoyou who bowed and waved to them as they headed out. Akaashi was leading the way and Kenma fell instep with the man, feeling a little less uneasy when close to him. 

“Kuroo-sama has requested your guidance.” Akaashi said as if reading Kenma’s mind. 

“Why…?” 

“The king has been busy lately, I think his brain is finally a little fried, he could use the help.” 

“Why would you even make such a young person a king?” Kenma hadn’t meant for Akaashi to answer, mostly saying it under his breath as a way to voice the question that presented itself when he first heard of Kuro’s age. 

“He wasn’t meant to take the throne so early. The previous king died and since Kuroo-sama was of age he was made to take over.” 

“He didn’t have a brother or an uncle that could do it?” Kenma asked curiously. 

“Well, no he doesn’t have any relatives, but it wouldn’t matter if he did.” 

“Why not?” Akaashi was still Akaashi it seemed, barley answering his questions. 

“Our country is not like yours, our ruler has nothing to do with bloodline. Not to say that people with royal blood can’t become the ruler, it just doesn’t have any affect on the one chosen. 

Kenma dodged a woman carrying a basket full of linen. “They just pick people at random then?” He said when he was able to walk by Akaashi’s side again. 

“Of course not.” Akaashi scoffed. “There are candidates, children who show signs of greatness. These children study and train and whichever does the best, shows the greatest potential, they become king.” 

“So anyone can do it?” 

Akaashi shook his head. “No, you have to have sense, and a knack for ruling. I said blood has nothing to do with the decision, but it helps since hey get the training they need from a young age.” 

“And Kuro was one of them?” 

“Yes.” Akaashi nodded. “He was picked along with two others, and he beat them both.” 

“What do the others do? They must hate him.” 

Akaashi smiled a little. “No, they do not hate him, rather they are very good friends and work at jobs they both exceed at.” 

Akaashi was practically telling him the answer, but Kenma still asked. “You were one of the others?” 

“Yes, me and Bokuto-san.” 

“Why did you two not win?” Kenma thought he might be being a little rude, but was genuinely curious; Akaashi seemed like an excellent choise for a king in his opinion. 

“I was the first to be chosen for consideration because of my mind. I was the most knowledgeable in my village, and the former king said that my head was level, something you needed as a ruler.” Akaashi looked thoughtful for a moment. “However, the physical part of the job was where I didn’t meet requirements. I wasn’t bad at fighting, but I wasn’t outstanding, something a king should be.” 

“And Bokuto?” Kenma asked. 

“Bokuto-san was the second to join as a considerate. He was strong, one of the strongest the country had seen in a while but…well…He’s Bokuto-san.” 

Kenma nodded, he understood. Bokuto ruling a country?…Not the best decision. 

“Kuroo-sama was the the last to be considered. His family died when he was young and had no family to take him in; usually kids like that are brought to the castle until someone offers their home but…Kuroo was different.” 

Kenma eyed him and waited for him to continue. 

“He became friends With Bokuto-san pretty fast, and since he was training to become king, Kuroo followed him. The king saw them one day and immediately Kuroo stood out. When he asked around, the previous king was informed that not only was he exceptionally talented with a blade, he was extremely smart, even more so than me.” 

“So,” Kenma asked. “He had what you and Bokuto both lacked?” 

Akaashi nodded. “Yes. The king disqualified the both of us in favor of Kuro, seeing as he found a perfect heir he didn’t want to waste his time. Bokuto was heartbroken. Not that he necessarily wanted to become king, but feeling like he wasn’t good enough was hard on him.” 

“And you?” Kenma inquired. 

“I was relieved. I never wanted to become a ruler, but since I was chosen my family expected me to try my best. It all worked out in the end though; Bokuto-san vowed to become the greatest royal guard there ever was, which he accomplished, and I still got a high enough position to please my family.” 

They stopped in front of a door a little ways from the main hall. 

“Kuroo-sama didn’t really get to have a childhood, not that we or even you did either. We’re not expecting anything from you Kenma, you don’t feel need to feel like you owe me or this country anything; but helping Kuroo out when he needs it…we’d all appreciate it.” 

Kenma gulped before nodding, suddenly feeling that whatever he’d been called to do suddenly had a much greater importance. 

“I will be inside with you, please don’t worry.” It occurred to Kenma that Akaashi must have taken his grave expression as fright and tried to ease his worry. He wished it only a little fear that he felt in his heart. 

There were two gaurds on either side of the entrance who let Akaashi pass without a second glance.

Akaashi opened the door, didn’t bother with knocking but it was fine it seemed as no one looked up to acknowledge their entrance. 

The room was small, there were no windows or anyway to the outside world besides the door they came in, and the only source of light were the candles that decorated the walls. There was a table in the center on the room, on the far end was a man Kenma didn’t know, sitting across from him was Kuro. 

Bokuto was there as well, as soon at he noticed that Akaashi had entered he moved to grab the mans arm and drag him to the wall he was previously occupying, leaving Kenma alone, standing by the door really wishing he could run out of it. 

Kuro looked up at him then and smiled softly. He stood up and made his way over, opening the door and motioning Kenma to follow him outside. 

They stood just outside now, and Kenma gave him a curious look. 

“I need your help.” 

“I know.” Kenma replied. That was why he had been called. 

“That man, he was supposed to ship some goods to the sea to be traded at port, but he said he was robbed.” 

Kenma only stared, waiting for Kuro to get to the point. 

Kuro seemed to understand his silence. “All of the guards he took with him were dead, yet he is alive. I find it suspicious.” 

“You think he sold the goods for his own profit.” It wasn’t a question, more like Kenma was coming to understand why he had been called. 

“Exactly, or maybe something of the sort. What I mean is, I don’t think he’s innocent, but he’s not doing the nose thing!” 

Kuro ran a frustrated hand through his messy hair, not helping the state of it. 

“I need your magic eyes, please help me.” The man jutted out his bottom lip and Kenma recoiled from the disgusting gesture. What grown man pouts to get what he wants? 

“My eyes aren’t magic.” Kenma muttered 

“You’ll help?” Kuro asked excitedly. 

‘Of course.’ Kenma thought. 

He nodded. 

Kuro’s smile was large as he thanked Kenma and the blonde thought something was wrong with his head with the way it swam at the gesture. 

Kuro’s face changed suddenly, taking on a well composed and slightly frightening expression. If Kenma was on the other end of that sharp gaze he feels like he would probably spill all of his secrets. 

The both of them walked back in, Kuro taking his previous seat and motioning for Kenma to take the one next to him. They were sitting close, close enough for Kuro’s shoulder to brush his though Kenma knew this was just so they could speak to each other quietly. 

Kuro handed Kenma a piece of paper and a pen. ‘for observations.’ He mouthed. 

Kenma took them in hand, not used to so formally watching other people but feeling the need to repay the debt of his new life. 

“Start from the beginning, what happened?” Kuro asked. 

“I was on my way to shore when I was attacked. My guards were taken out, and I fled.” 

No wavering eyes. Kenma wrote down. 

Kenma tugged on Kuro’s robes lightly to get his attention and the man leaned down to level his ear with Kenma’s mouth. 

“How many guards did he take?” Kenma whispered. 

Kuro held up four fingers. 

“How many people attacked his group?” 

Again he held up four fingers. 

Kenma backed away from Kuro, letting the man sit upright again. It seemed troublesome to keep getting the kings attention and even though he really didn’t want too, he spoke the the suspect himself. 

“How did you know you were attacked?” 

The man glanced his way and eyed Kenma in a way that the blonde knew was annoyed. 

“My guards were dying.” He said in a condescending way. 

“Who was killed first, how did they die?” 

The man tsk’d. “Gutted from behind I think.” 

“You think?” Kenma asked. 

“It happened fast, I didn’t see it clearly.” 

Man is constantly rubbing at his eyes. 

“Kuro I’m hungry.” The blonde said. Kuro looked at him bewildered. 

“Thirsty too.” 

“Umm,” Kuro turned to look to the two men leaning against the wall. “Akaashi, can you go and get us some drinks and snacks?” 

Akaashi nodded and left the room leaving three very confused men behind. 

“What were you shipping?” Kenma asked. The suspect blinked at him as if coming back to reality. 

Man has put a single finger to his mouth while waiting for interruption to pass. 

“I was in charge of trading goods. Silks and spices and such.” 

“I see.” Kenma sat back in his chair and relaxed his body. 

“What are you doing?” Kuro whispered to him after they sat in silence for a while. 

Kenma looked at him innocently. “I’m hungry.” 

Kuro sighed and sat back as well, apparently accepting that Kenma wasn’t going to continue until his hunger was sated. 

Akaashi came back holding a plate of simple breads and cheeses and a pitcher of water with a few cups. He sat it on the end of the table and moved next to Bokuto again. 

Kenma picked up a piece of bread and ate it, then poured himself a drink at took his time to finish it. 

“How did you escape?” Kenma asked when he felt it had been long enough. 

“I ran.” The man replied. 

“How exactly.” 

Those gold eyes drank in every movement and breath his prey made, ingesting and processing every action. 

“I saw two of my guards go down, I was scared so I got out of my seat and ran back toward the city. Everyone was busy fighting and they didn’t notice me.” 

Use of food and drink successful. Man has moved them to the center of the table unconsciously. 

“The fifth man didn’t go after you?” 

The man shook his head. “No like I said they were all busy fighting. They didn’t notice me.” 

“Kuro i’m done” 

Kenma stood up and bowed, turning and exiting the room. 

“Excuse me.” He heard Kuro say as he hurried to follow the blonde. 

“Hey wait.” Kuro said once they were outside. Kenma turned toward him and held out his paper. 

“I don’t understand.” Kuro said after looking it over. 

“They’re my observations, you told me to write down what I saw.” 

“Yes I know that.” Kuro said. “But it doesn’t make any sense.” 

Kenma sighed and moved to stand next to Kuro, looking over his list and explaining each point. 

“His eyes didn't waver when he was explaining what happened to him.” 

“Isn’t that a good thing?” Kuro asked. 

Kenma nodded. “I could be, but, when people are thinking of what to say or coming up with the right words to describe something their eyes wander. Everybody does it.” 

“Except him, he didn’t.” 

“No.” Kenma agreed. “He did not. His answer seemed very rehearsed.” 

“I agree.” Kuro said. “He didn't sound genuine to me.” 

“The second point.” Kenma continued. “He kept rubbing at his eyes. This is a common trait that presents itself when someone is lying. It happens more in men than woman though.” 

“I thought he was just tired.” Kuro said. 

“Even though you don’t know what it means, you pick up on a lot of things.” 

“I may not be as observant as you, but i’m very good at paying attention.” Kenma glanced up to see those caramel eyes boring into him. They held his own, searching into his cool gold orbs for something, though Kenma didn’t know what. 

Kenma cleared his throat and looked back to the paper, suddenly wanting to get this conversation over with. 

“Third.” He began again. “He put a single finger to his mouth. While touching in or around the mouth is a sign in of itself, he was holding up a finger in a “shushing” gesture. This usually indicates that they have something to say, but are trying to not speak, silencing themselves with a gesture.” 

“And the last one?” Kuro prompted. 

“I didn’t know if this would work or not but since were were at a table I figured it might.” Kuro listened intently, actually taking care to absorb and remember Kenma’s words. 

“It’s common that when sitting at a table and lying, especially being questioned, people will unconsciously move things between them and the person confronting them so as to create a sort of barrier. Except there was nothing for him to move, so I had to request something.” 

“That’s why you asked for food and drink?” Kuro questioned. 

“Yes. I’m glad it worked.” 

“Thank you so much Kenma, this was exactly what I needed, just a little push in the right direction.” 

Kenma nodded, not needing the thanks. 

“I would like to show you something as thanks after i’ve finished up here, would that be alright?” 

Kenma agreed. Though he couldn’t tell why, the thought of seeing something he didn’t know about seemed exiting all of the sudden. 

“You remember where my office is right?” 

“Yes.” 

“Great.” Kuro said. “I’ll come get you when I’m done.” 

Kenma turned to leave. 

“Oh, that’s right.” He turned around at the sound of Kuro’s voice. 

“Hmm?” 

“When you asked him how he got away, you asked if the fifth man noticed him, but I told you only four man attacked him.” 

“He did not deny the presence of a fifth party; I believe there’s a reason for that.” 

“You think he made a deal with them? Maybe the extra guy was their leader or something?” 

Kenma shrugged. “How should I know? Isn’t that your job to find out?” 

Kuro showed him his signature smirk and turned to head back inside.

“I suppose you’re right.” Kenma heard him say before he closed the door behind him. 

Kenma made his way through the halls back to Kuro’s office. Luckily he remembered the way and when he got there the guards let him right in. They closed the doors behind him and he was left alone. 

He went to sit on the bench that adorned the left side of the room. The interrogation seemed to be taking longer than expected because after 25 minutes of sitting and thinking about what Kuro wanted to show him, Kenma was getting bored. 

He stood up and walked around the room, trailing his hand over the desk as he went to the right side of the room to peek out the window. It looked out onto a simple garden, nothing different than Kenma was used to seeing already; so he turned around to head to the center of the room. 

Kenma didn’t snoop. His whole life he’d been taught to do the exact opposite; however, what normal human would pass up the opportunity to look through a kings office absolutely unsupervised? 

He looked through the bookshelves, there was nothing interesting really; it was mostly books of stocks and business stuff. 

Looking toward the desk he stopped and asked himself, ‘Should I really be doing this?’ No. No Kenma should not be thinking about rifling through a desk that did not belong to him; but Kuro was taking forever and Kenma was bored. What was a boy supposed to do? 

He sat in the big chair in front of the desk and relaxed a bit. Taking a little breath he opened the first drawer. Papers, pens, normal desk stuff. 

‘Boring.’ He thought. 

He didn’t know what he wanted to find. If he knew anything he shouldn’t it would only put him in danger and give him a hard time. Really he should quit… 

He opened the second drawer. 

There was a book on top and Kenma skimmed it, expecting it to be a book about hero’s or something gallant, instead finding it to be a dramatic romance novel. He thought it was funny, that someone as tall and intimidating would read such frilly books. 

Putting the book on the desk to keep it out of the way, he reached back down, finding only more papers. He felt frustrated, he needed something to entertain him, not put him to sleep. 

His hand hit something and he moved it around to grasp the object. He was a little taken aback, pulling out a knife with a blade as long as his forearm. The object looked new, unused, and he wondered why Kuro would have need of it if he had two permanent guards outside his room and a personal one with him almost 24/7. 

It looked sharp and Kenma found it a little fascinating. He twirled it in his hand, noticing how light it felt in his grasp. He held a finger up to the tip, lightly pressing on it to feel the metal on his hand when someone burst through the door. 

“Kenma! I’m so sorry i’m late!” 

Kenma yelped at the sudden noise and jumped, causing the blade to press into his finger and cut it. The pain was the least of his worries now, as he was currently sitting on the chair of the king, rifling through his desk with said man now looking at him. 

His cheeks burned at being caught in the act and he quickly stood up, flinching as the blade clattered on the ground with a loud BANG. 

“Uh…I was just-“ 

“Wait don’t look at that!” Kuro cut him off with wide eyes when his gaze landed on the book currently residing on top of the desk. He rushed over, picking it up and shuffling around to Kenma’s side to hurriedly put it back in the drawer, covering it with papers and shutting it. 

Kenma bent down to retrieve the fallen knife, tentatively holding it out to Kuro. 

“Sorry.” He said. Too embarrassed to say anything else. 

“It’s fine. Thank you” Kuro said taking the blade from Kenma and rushing to put it away as well. 

“Oh no, you’re bleeding!” 

Kenma looked down to his hand and as Kuro said, he was indeed bleeding. He lifted his finger closer to his face to inspect it; it wasn’t anything life threatening. 

“Here.” Kuro shuffled around the desk and found an old cloth. He ripped a piece off, grabbing Kenma’s hand and tugging it toward him. 

Kenma shook a little at the contact, as this was the first time the man had ever touched him. He could feel his palms start to sweat when Kuro gently wrapped up his finger with the cloth and delicately tied the ends. 

“Is it too tight?” Kuro asked, voice low. 

Kenma shook his head. His stomach seemed tight and was getting pretty uncomfortable, he pulled his hand back, relieved at the loss of contact with the man in front him. 

“I’m sorry for going through your stuff.” Kenma mumbled, duking his head down so he didn’t have to face the tall man. 

“It’s okay. I’m sorry I left you alone for so long.” 

Kenma nodded, not really wanting to dwell on the embarrassing situation any longer. 

“You wanted to show me something?” 

Kuro’s signature smirk grew on his face. “Yes, follow me. I’m sure you’ll like it.” 

“Kenma wasn’t sure he’d like it, but he’d do anything to get out of that god awful room. 

They left the office, to Kenma’s enjoyment, and slowly walked throughout the castle. The weather was nice today; warm with a slight breeze. The open walls of the castle allowed for the wind to rustle Kema’s hair, a nice feeling compared to the stagnant air of his home country. 

“You don’t get frightened easily do you?” Kuro asked after a while of walking. 

“Not unless I should be.” Kenma replied. 

Kuro didn’t say anymore, which if anything would frighten Kenma it would definitely be the silence of the man walking in front of him. 

They were walking in a part of the castle Kenma had never been to before, though it didn’t surprise him with how big and twisted the place was. Following just slightly behind Kuro they reached a large archway with a heavily reenforced fence. 

“Kuroo-sama, what a surprise.” A man said. 

Kenma tried to look around Kuro into the space they seemed to be heading toward, but Kuro moved with him, effectively blocking his view. 

“I wanted to show our newest resident my pride and joy.” Kuro said. 

“Of course.” The man grabbed a key from his pocket and soon enough the large gate opened sightly. 

Kuro turned to face Kenma. “Do you trust me?” He said. 

“No.” 

Kuro gave him a shocked laugh. “I suppose I should rephrase then; will you trust me this once?” 

Kenma thought for a bit then nodded. “I guess.” 

“Great.” Kuro smiled. “close your eyes.” 

Kenma gave him a ‘no way in hell’ look. 

“I promise nothing will happen to you. You said you’d trust me remember?” 

Kenma didn’t trust this man, wouldn’t trust anyone who made him so uneasy, but he had agreed to go here with the man of his own free will and decided that it was a little to late to back out now. 

He slowly closed his eyes, choosing to show Kuro that he trusted him rather than voicing it. 

“Good job. I’m going to lead you now.” 

A warm hand slipped over Kenma’s and the blonde felt his his blood pump faster. The places Kuro’s fingers touched his own left a strange sort of vibrating feeling on his skin. Kenma didn’t know if the sensation was unpleasant or not. 

Kuro gently tugged on his hand to get him moving. Kenma’s steps were tentative, never one to fully trust another with his body like this but so far nothing happened to him, Kuro moved slowly with him and was telling him when to be careful. 

Kenma felt the stone ground turn soft under his feet and he smelt the sweet aroma that he had come to identify as grass surround him. They walked a short while longer when he felt Kuro stop in front of him. 

“Sit down.” 

Kenma hesitantly lower himself, feeling for the ground beneath him with his fingers. Kuro let go of his hand as he sat down and to Kenma’s discomfort the tingling feeling seemed to linger somewhat. 

“Wait here. No peeking.” Kuro said once Kenma was properly seated. 

Kenma folded his legs in front of himself, letting his hands fall to rest in his lap. He breathed in deep, loving the smell of the earth that surrounded him. The sun felt warm on his skin, and he could tell he was directly under the sky now. He wondered what Kuro could possibly have brought him here for, but he did know that Kuro had seemed exceptionally exited about it. His “pride and joy.” Kenma wondered what it was. 

He heard a weird little noise and his body tensed. He could hear Kuro’s footsteps coming closer to him and he mentally prepared himself for whatever weird hobby Kuro could have. 

He felt Kuro stop just in front of him and sit down. The little noise happened again, this time accompanied by a soft shush from Kuro. 

Suddenly something was on Kenma’s lap and it was moving. If he thought his body was tense before it was nothing compared to the tightness he felt now. 

“Don’t worry, they wont hurt you.” Kuro said. “Open your eyes.” 

The first thing Kenma saw after blinking a couple of times to get used to the light was that they were in a little meow of sorts, not unlike the ones that seemed to be integrated into the rest of the castle; the only difference being this one was surrounded by a tall fence. 

When he heard that little sound again he looked toward his lap to see three tiny little creatures crawling all around it. 

“What are they?” Kenma asked. They were pretty small and fluffy so Kenma didn’t feel as scared as before. 

“They’re kittens.” 

“Kittens?” Kenma asked. He didn’t understand. 

“Yeah you know, kittens, like baby cats.” 

Cats? Kenma remembered seeing a handful of cats back in his home country. They weren’t really common though as the temperature made them hard to come by. They were used to catch the mice in the food pantries but most died before long. 

“Don’t tell me you’ve never seen a kitten before.” Kuro looked genuinely shocked and upset when Kenma didn’t answer. 

“Really? You’ve never seen one?” 

“We don’t have very many animals in my country.” Kenma explained. “Unless said animal can survive in ice.” 

“I guess that makes sense then, cats like to be warm.” 

Kenma looked back down to the little creatures that occupied his lap. There were three of them, one was a dark brown shade with black stripes and had pretty green eyes, the next was a grey color, with deep blue eyes that reminded Kenma on the ocean he’d travel across. Kuro picked up the third one, holding in in his arms and scratching it under the chin. 

“You reminded me of this little guy when I first saw you. You have the same eyes.” 

The “little guy” Kuro held was an all white cat. It was currently chewing on one of Kuro’s fingers but stopped to look up at Kenma as if he felt the man staring. 

The kitten blinked and Kenma felt as though he were looking in some sort of weird mirror; Kuro was right, they shared the same sharp and pointed golden eyes. Kenma stared at him and the kitten stared right back, both taking in one another and keeping completely still. 

“Ha ha!” Kuro laughed and broke both him and the kitten out of the staring contest they were having. 

“What?” Kenma asked annoyed. 

“My comparison was right! You’re both the same! You totally remind me of a kitten Kenma!” Kuro kept laughing and Kenma felt his face grow red at yet again being compared to a cat. 

“I’m not a kitten.” Kenma said grumpily. 

“Are too.” 

“Am not.” 

“Are too.” 

“Am not.” 

Kuro stayed silent but had a little smirk on his face and Kenma huffed in annoyance. 

Kenma looked down to pay more attention to the furry things covering him. The grey one was about to fall off and Kenma hurried to pull it back to the center of his lap. 

“What are their names?” Kenma asked. 

“The grey one is Thunder, she’s a little girl about nine weeks old.” 

Kenma pet the little head of thunder and was surprised at how soft it was. 

“The striped one is Voya. She’s a ten week old girl.” 

Voya was currently chewing on the end of Kenma’s robes and Kenma batted a finger at her which she immediately targeted, wiggling her but she jumped, only to fall on her side. Kenma smiled a little. 

“And this ones name is Kenma.” Kenma looked up at the white cat and frowned. How did they have the same name when Kuro only knew of Kenma for a week at best. 

Kuro chuckled at his expression. “I’m just kidding, this is Calliope.” 

Kuro held out the little kitten for Kenma to take he did so gently, cradling the cat in his arms. Calliope wiggled and stretched out his paws trying to get at the blondes face. Kenma bent down and Calliope nuzzled his nose into the side of Kenma’s cheek. 

Kenma nuzzled him back and slowly started stroking his stomach listening to the satisfied purrs Calliope was giving him. 

“So cute.” He heard Kuro say. Kenma nodded, agreeing with his statement. 

“I meant you.” 

Kenma stopped what he was doing to look up at Kuro through his eyelashes, not trusting himself to fully face the man sitting before him. His stomach felt funny, a tight knot sitting at the base of it. 

“You just look so much like them, it’s like I gained a fourth cat today.” 

Kenma wasn’t a cat, but if Kuro thought he actually looked like one he would accept it; the tightness in his stomach lessened when he though of it that way. 

“Why do you have these?” Kenma asked to change the subject. 

Kuro twisted his body and laid down in the grass. His head was by Kenma’s lap and he reached a hand over to absentmindedly stroke the kittens currently decorating it. 

“There are a lot of cats in Nekoma, all different types and sizes. For the most part we live with them. Our ancestors used to believe they were gods who brought good luck; they basically worshiped them. We don’t necessarily believe that anymore but we still treat them with more respect than other animals I guess.” 

Kuro paused, seeming hesitant to speak. 

“A while ago there was a pretty big accident in the city. A lot of the population, human and animal alike were killed. Our city built itself up again, but it was hard to help the animals when we could barely help ourselves. The former king built this place then; it was a sort of animal sanctuary meant to be used until everything settled down. Now though people drop off injured animals to get treated here. These are the kittens of a coupe of pregnant cats that were dropped off.” 

Kenma watched Kuro’s arm move back and forth over the kittens. He was looking straight up toward the sky, lost in thought it seemed. 

“That’s nice of you.” 

“Huh?” Kuro seemed to come back to reality and turn his head toward Kenma. 

“I mean…that you take care of them and all.” 

“I guess you could say it’s a hobby of mine.” Kuro’s gaze bore into Kenma’s. “Taking in stray cats.” 

“I’m sure they appreciate it.” Kenma breathed. 

Kuro didn’t respond, only stared at Kenma until the blonde couldn’t take it anymore and ducked his gaze. 

Kuro’s hand found it’s way to the dangling ends of Kenma’s hair. 

“You do that a lot.” Kenma mumbled, stroking Calliope who had now fallen asleep. 

“Do what?” Kuro asked lowly. 

“Play with my hair.” 

“Hmm.” Kuro hummed. “It’s soft, I like it.” 

Kenma didn’t know if he could handle any more of these weird comments from Kuro. He scooped up all three kittens and placed them on Kuro’s stomach, standing up quickly. 

Kuro’s fingers slipped from his hair as he stood and limply fell to the ground. 

“I want to leave.” Kenma said. 

Kuro sat up, careful not to knock the kittens onto the ground. 

“Wait a second, let me put them back.” Kuro picked all of them up and left to return them. 

Kenma wandered around, not knowing how to exit since he was led here blind. He looked at the perimeter, behind the fence was a more dense sort of forest and he moved closer to look at it. 

The trees were tall, taller than anything Kenma had seen before and the ground was thick with foliage. He could hear birds chirping from inside and noticed a rustling in the bushes. Peering in closer, he thought he saw something glowing. A light maybe? 

A black figure jumped out at him, crashing into the fence. Kenma jumped back in shock, nearly screaming at the sudden movement. 

His eyes focused in and he was left staring at a cat. A very big cat. Kenma backed up a few steps, eyes stuck on the animal before him. 

A noise to the right of him made both of their heads turn. Kenma’s eyes wandered over to a hole in the fence; on the ground was part of the fence, what Kenma could only assume was the door to the enclosure. 

The enclosure that was now open. 

The cat saw the open space at the same time Kenma did and leisurely made its way over to it. 

Kenma stood there, frozen, as the large animal gracefully stepped into the garden with him. The deep gold eyes bearing into Kenma’s own as it sunk low, stalking in a slow circle around the blonde. 

The calculating gaze had Kenma pausing a moment. Delirious and terrified as he was, he still had a silly thought. 

‘It reminds me of Kuro.’ 

Now was not the time to be comparing predators, but he supposed it was the last time he could as the beast dropped low, muscles corded and tight before it pounced and Kenma saw a mass of black flying straight toward him. 

“Kenma!” 

His body tensed, he waited for the crushing blow to come, but it never did. 

Blood eagerly pumped through his veins and set his skin on fire. His breath was held, he made no noise as he opened his eyes, expecting this to all be some cruel joke, expecting to be dead. 

He found himself staring at a broad back. He looked up at it, curious. Was this what you saw when you died? 

“enma- Kenma! Are you alright?! Who the hell left the gate unlocked?!” 

The voice was calling out to him, it sounded mad. Were people mad at you when you died? 

He was shaking now. Well, he was being shaken. The movement felt sluggish and weird; as if everything was moving in slow motion. 

“Kenma!” 

His senses flooded back in an instant; everything was sharp, clear. He looked up at Kuro with a confused face. He didn’t understand. 

“I’m alive?” He asked curiously. 

“Yes, oh my god Kenma are you okay? I’m going to kill whoever did this” 

Kenma shook his head. He was fine? He was alive? 

His legs collapsed and his body sunk to the ground. Kuro followed, sinking with him until they both hit the floor. 

“I don’t understand…” Kenma said. His eyes were constantly focusing and unfocusing on Kuro’s worried expression. 

“Shhh…it’s okay I promise you. You’re okay.” Kuro tugged him toward his his chest, gathering the small boy in in his arms he started across the the garden. 

Kenma would protest, but his mind was still a little fuzzy and he didn’t have it in him. Kuro cradled him in his arms, softly stroking his hair to calm the boy down. 

Kenma didn’t know what happened. He didn’t know how long it took to get to his room, or how how many people stopped them to ask what was wrong. He found himself in his bed now, surrounded by faces all staring at him. 

He hastily sat up. The faces all blinked at him in surprise, and suddenly everybody was talking. 

“Kenma! Are you okay?” Hinata yelled. 

“Are you hurt? Do you need a doctor?” He heard Akaashi say from his left. 

He saw Bokuto and Kageyama there too, but they were mostly just yelling random things and it was all giving Kenma a headache. 

“Guys give him room.” 

Kenma’s head whipped to his right where he found Kuro walking toward him. Everyone in the room shut up at the command, Shoyou moved over so Kuro could sit on the bed next to Kenma. 

“Your fine. Nothing was injured, I think you just went into shock.” Kuro said. He reached his hand out to touch Kenma’s forehead but the blonde moved back, startled by the movement. 

Kuro retracted his hand quickly when he saw Kenma’s reaction; opting to rest his hands in his lap instead. 

“I’m sorry. That was Nala, she’s a panther I’ve had since she was young. The cage was opened, I don’t know how but-. Anyways you’re okay and that’s all that matters.” 

“I think I provoked her…i’m sorry.” Kenma mumbled. 

Kuro looked at him with an expression Kenma couldn’t read. “Don’t worry about it.” 

He turned to the rest of the people in the room. “Okay guys, let’s leave so Kenma can rest. He doesn’t need an audience.” 

Hinata reached over to give him a hug before Kageyama tugged on the small boy to get him to leave. Akaashi said goodbye to him, telling Kenma he need only ask for anything. Kuro lingered back a bit after everyone left; he stood in the doorway, watching Kenma with those sharp eyes of his.

“I’m sorry.” 

“Ah,” Kenma started. “No, it’s my fault.” 

Kuro sighed a bit, seeming to understand that an argument would go nowhere and shut the door. 

Now that Kenma was alone he thought back on what happened. He still didn’t quite know how he was alive, but he did remember a back standing in front of him. 

Kuro’s back. 

The thought made Kenma feel weird on the inside, so he did what any other person would do. He ignored it. 

~ ~ ~

Kenma was grateful for the gift of puzzles Kuro had given him. It had been a week since the “accident”, and though Hinata still helped him with his meals and daily baths, his friend had been assigned back most of his previous responsibilities, leaving Kenma alone most of the time. 

He met with Akaashi when he could, but the man was ever busy, always working on something. On the off chance he did have some free time it was mostly spent with Bokuto, and while Akaashi graciously offered for the blonde to accompany them, he refused most of the time; being around Bokuto tired him out. 

That’s how he found himself today, sitting on his balcony and working on one of the harder puzzles in the book Kuro had given him. He’d been working on it for about 3 hours now, and his brain felt like putty. Kenma didn’t need much, in fact he was a pretty simple guy in his opinion, but every now and then he did need some new stimuli. 

He hadn’t really gone exploring on his own much. This mostly stemmed from the fact that if he got lost he’d have to talk to someone; the thought wasn’t an appealing one. 

Today the boredom seemed to be too great; even though Hinata was not available and he didn’t know where Akaashi was, he still found himself pocketing his puzzle book and stepping outside of his room. 

He ambled around for a while, not really sure what to do. He thought it would be fun if he went to go visit the Kittens he had been introduced too, but he still held an aversion to the place. If anything the thought of stretching out his legs and just walking sounded good to him; so that’s what he did. 

The people, like normal, were all bustling about yet still had a relaxed air around them. Kenma had realized pretty quickly that people here didn’t treat work as something to dread; it was more of a social situation if anything. Unlike his old home, where people only gossiped to hopefully spread malicious rumors and ruin another, the people here talked of mostly positives. He constantly heard news of newly announced pregnancies or woman laughing over the cuteness of men trying to woo their love interests. Advice on all things were constantly passed around; recipes to try, to how to deal with misbehaving children. Woman were constantly complimenting each other and helping one another when they felt down. 

The whole place was what Kenma could only describe as positive. Even though none of it was directed at him, the air surrounding the place had certainly effected him; he felt in higher sprits here than he had ever felt back home. 

“Kenma!” The blonde recognized the shiver that ran through his body. He turned around to search for the voice that had called him and met eyes with Kuro, though he quickly dropped his own when the man approached him. 

“What?” 

“Still grumpy I see.” Kuro said. His trademark smirk was on his face, combating the look of worry he had been used to getting from he man.

“I’m not grumpy.” 

“Yeah yeah.” Kuro waved his hand in front of his face. “What are you doing? Are you busy?” 

Kenma looked at him with a ‘Really?’ face because, no, he wasn’t busy and he knew Kuro knew that. 

“Come over here then, Me and Bokuto are practicing our sparing skills; Akaashi’s there too.” Kuro pointed over to one of the many little gardens that branched off of the castle and sure enough he found the two previously mentioned men. Akaashi was sitting on a bench, looking very bored while Bokuto was standing in front of him waving a large sword around and striking different poses, glancing at Akaashi after each one with a smug look on his face. Kenma could hear Bokuto asking if Akaashi thought he looked cool, and the raven nodded in response every time. “Yes Bokuto-san, very cool.” 

“Umm…” Kenma didn’t really want to go; while this would be a good distraction, and that’s exactly what he was looking for on this outing, it would mean he had to spend time with Kuro. The man hadn’t done anything to offend or annoy Kenma. The man had even saved his life. In fact he had been a very gracious host considering he was housing a suspected killer, it was only the fact that whenever Kuro looked at him for too long Kenma’s stomach twisted uncomfortably. 

It was happening now, those caramel eyes were staring at him and Kenma felt as though he was being dissected. Every movement he made those eyes followed; Kenma was an observant person, but Kuro wasn’t just observant, he was cunning, witty, smart and Kenma couldn’t figure out what he was thinking. Kuro was overall, unsettling. 

When the stares got a bit too much for Kenma he lowered his gaze to the floor and fiddled with his fingers, a habit he’d picked up whenever he got too much attention. 

Kuro reached out and pulled on the ends of his robes slightly. “Come on.” 

Kenma didn’t have a choice, he was already being dragged along and he couldn’t exactly say no to a request from a king, no matter how un-kingly the man seemed. 

“Guys, Kenma’s gonna join us okay?” Kuro said when they reached the other two. They both looked up at the sudden announcement. 

“Hey Kenma!” Bokuto yelled with a frantic wave. Akaashi gave him a small nod and patted the spot next to him. 

Kenma wasted no time in moving away from the onyx haired man and sat down to the much easier to be around Akaashi. 

Kuro didn’t say anything about the blondes sudden departure from his side, only looked at him with those piercing eyes. Luckily for Kenma, that gaze was ripped from him when Bokuto thrust a sword into his hands. 

“Let’s get started, my liege.” 

“My pleasure.” 

“I’ll win for you Akaashi!” Bokuto said and winked in Akaashi’s direction. The raven blushed slightly at the same time he let out an exaggerated sigh. 

Suddenly Kuro swung his sword and Kenma feared for the distracted man, but Bokuto had no problem blocking the swing and moving to attack with one of his own. 

“How have you been? Are you doing okay?” Akaashi asked. His eyes were on the two men before him, watching them throw swords at each other as if they weren’t wielding dangerous weapons. 

“Fine. And yes, i’m doing fine. It wasn’t that big of a deal.” 

Akaashi nodded. “I’m sorry I haven’t been around very much; it’s always the busiest for me when I get back home.” 

“It’s fine.” Kenma said. He watched the men before him, finding the whole ordeal entertaining. He had never witnessed a fight before; his country hadn’t been to war the whole time he was alive. It was too small and useless for anyone to fight over; and the guards had trained in a separate building that Kenma had not been allowed to go into. 

Kenma wasn’t really sure what counted as skillful when it came to fighting; he thought it to be a bit barbaric though he understood the necessity of it. Now that he was looking closely he could tell a difference in the way the two men moved. Bokuto was strong, his movements were steady and his attacks hit hard; Kenma concluded that in physical strength Bokuto was superior. That wasn’t to say Kuro was hopeless; where Bokuto’s attacks hit hard and surely, Kuro was fast. His movements were liquid an feline as he effortlessly dodged and twisted around every strike Bokuto aimed at him. His agility was highly developed and it showed as he moved back and forth on sure footing. His body responded to him well, doing whatever and going wherever he wanted. 

In terms of fighting ability, Kenma didn’t have the knowledge to say which style was superior. He did know that it was somehow breathtaking to watch; the twists and turns, the fast jabs, all of it was so beautiful if Kenma didn’t know any better, he would think it was some sort of dance. 

Of course in dances, you didn’t usually see blood. 

Bokuto swiped his sword and Kuro moved just in time to hit it out of Bokutos hand. With a now defenseless opponent Kuro could easily use the momentum he had and swipe a clean line on Bokuto’s face. As the man grabbed at the wound, Kuro kicked out his right foot, effectively hitting Bokito’s leg and making him collapse on his knee. 

With a blade pressed up against Bokuto’s chest Kuro spoke. “I won.” 

“I thought we said no face attacks!” Bokuto whined. 

“It’s only a scratch, your precious face is fine.” Kuro dropped his blade to the ground and wiped the sweat covering his brow. 

“Water.” He said and immediately a small servant girl rushed over, cup in hand. 

“Thank you.” Kuro took the cup and downed the contents in one go. He gave the cup back to the girl who scurried away the moment it was in her hands. 

“But I was thirsty too…” Kenma heard Bokuto whine from his spot on the ground. 

Kenma was still focusing on Bokuto, who was now splayed on the ground, when he noticed Kuro walking toward him. 

“What do you think?” he asked with a smirk. 

“You smell.” 

“Ha ha! He said you stink Kuro!” 

“Shut up, loser.” 

“You only won cause Kenma’s here.” 

Kuro looked directly at Kenma’s eyes. “I always do better with an audience.” 

Kenma looked away. 

“Bokuto-san please get off of the ground, it’s dirty.” 

“Akaashi! I lost! Do you not love me anymore?!” Bokuto quickly got up and threw his upper body in Akaashi’s lap. “I’ll win next time I promise!” 

“It’s fine Bokuto-san, you did well.” Akaashi patted Bokuto’s hair and grimaced at the sweat he touched. 

“You’re hurt, lets go clean your wound.” Bokuto nodded eagerly and stood up. He held out a hand for Akaashi and the raven took it, slowly standing up as well. 

Kenma gave him pleading eyes, a look that said “please don’t leave me’ but Akaashi didn’t look back, and soon Kenma was alone with his savior that made him entirely uncomfortable. 

Kuro took the seat Akaashi previously occupied and turned his body to face the blonde. 

“How are your puzzles?” 

“Huh?” Kenma said smartly. 

“The gift I gave you, do you enjoy them?” 

“Yes.” Kuro seemed dissatisfied with this answer but Kenma wasn’t going to elaborate on his own. Hopefully Kuro would get bored and leave him alone. 

“And everything else? No ones making you uncomfortable I hope.” 

‘Only you.’ Kenma thought. “No one.” 

“Not even me?” Kenma’s head whipped up at the question and he searched Kuro’s eyes. Did he just read his mind? What did this guy want with him? 

Kuro’s eyes searched his back, and Kenma had to look away from the stare. He found himself doing that often. He took out his book, needing something to turn his focus on. 

“You brought it with you?” Kuro didn’t comment on his lack of an answer and Kenma glanced up to see the excitement in the older mans eyes. He looked back to his puzzle and answered. 

“Yes.” 

“You seem pretty far into it.” 

“I’ve had it for a long time.” Kenma kept his answers short and to the point. He begged to whatever god’s that Kuro would get the message. 

He didn’t. 

“I would hardly say a week is a long time.” 

“There are 168 hours in a week, that’s more then enough time to finish a few.” 

“If you say so. I’ve been using your tricks.” 

The sudden topic change threw Kenma off. “What?” 

“You know, how to tell if someones lying or not, it’s helped a lot.” 

“It’s not a science.” Kenma said. “Not everyone has the same tells, and it doesn’t necessarily mean that they are lying, just that they’re more likely to be.” 

“I suppose you’re right.” 

Kuro didn’t speak for a while, but Kenma could feel those caramel eyes bore into him. 

“Did you have fun?” He asked after a while. 

“Doing what?” 

“Watching me?” Kenma froze and tried to control his breathing, why was it so hard to take in a simple breath? 

“It wasn’t boring.” He said when he felt like he could actually talk. He was beginning to go over his previous work, making sure he hadn’t messed up his puzzle along the way. 

“You’re fascinating.” 

Kenma paused. “I don’t know what you mean.” 

“You’re such a mystery. You don’t show your emotions or speak your mind. You’re calm, but not like Akaashi. He’s calm because he’s good at composing himself and hiding what he thinks. With you, it’s just like you don’t care. I can’t tell what you’re thinking. It’s so interesting. I find you absolutely fascinating.” 

Kenma wanted to die. He wanted to disappear from the earth right now. Never in his life had someone called him fascinating; boring yes, but never that. 

He dipped his head low, making his hair curtain around his face. His face felt hot, too hot; had he been sitting in the sun for too long? 

“Why are you hiding kitten?” Kuro reached over and grabbed his hair, twisting and rubbing it between his fingers before pulling slightly. The nickname caught Kenma off guard and he felt his breath catch in his throat, suddenly he couldn’t breath. 

“I’m leaving.” He managed to choke out before turning tail and running. He was so grateful that his previous job had made him build up a little stamina, and for the fact that Kuro had just been sparing. It made his escape a lot easier. 

“Woah!” A voice said when Kenma collided with them. 

“Kenma? Hey whats- why’s your face so red?” 

Kenma met the eyes of Hinata who had a look of mild panic on his face. 

“It’s hot.” He blurted out. Maneuvering his way around Hinata he fled once more, hoping to not run into anyone he knew. He made it back to his room, closing the doors behind him and sliding down to the floor and bringing his knees up to his chest. He brought his hands to his face to touch the burning skin there. 

“What the hell?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know guys, its's not my best. However I would like to point out that this is only my second fan fiction ever, so please let me use that as a crutch. Anyway thank you for reading and as always have a great day loves!


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey! So it's been a pretty long time and i'd like to apologize for that. I don't know if it's writers block or if it's because I just have a lackluster feeling about this fic, but it took a while for me to squeeze this chapter out. It could also have to do with the fact that I got a new kitten. (Her name's Shiro if you're interested.) But anyways sorry for the long delay and i'll try my best to pump out the rest of this story. I tried to make this Chapter just a bit longer than usual to hopefully make up for the absurd amount of days in between updates. Like always thank you for taking time out of your day to read this; it means a super lot to me and I hope you get some sort of enjoyment out of it.

He’s been avoiding Kuro. 

It wasn’t anything personal to the man, well, maybe it was as the only reason Kenma’s skipped out on dinner in the dining hall the last three nights was specifically so he wouldn’t bump into the messy haired king. 

Kenma tried to be sly about it; saying he didn’t feel well one night and saying he was tried the other two. Hinata had brought him his dinner to his room every time, thankfully never questioning the blonde. 

It really wasn’t anything Kuro had done per say. Kenma wasn’t mad at him after the cat “incident”, and it wasn’t like Kuro had offended him or anything…

Kenma just hated the feeling he got whenever that sly little smirk appeared on Kuro’s face, hated how his stomach twisted up whenever those deep caramel eyes focused on him for a beat too long, hated the way his heart pounded every time their skin brushed one another. Kenma felt like he was having an allergic reaction to Kuro. 

Luckily, as king, Kuro was a busy man and even luckier, Kenma had not been summoned to use his “magic eyes” as Kuro called them. 

He didn’t know why he had such a strong reaction toward a man he barley knew. It wasn’t as if Kuro was the first person to ever be nice to him; that was Akkashi, and the raven didn’t make Kenma’s skin fizzle at the slightest touch. 

Kenma had been spending a lot of time reading. He tried to search for the book he had found buried in Kuro’s desk, unfortunately no one seemed to know about a book called “Loves Affair” and since Kuro seemed pretty embarrassed about the blonde finding it, he figured it'd be best to not bring it up to anyone else. 

Kenma spent the rest of his time walking and talking with Hinata, very purposely staying far away from the area surrounding the throne room. The palace was getting easier to navigate as he had been here almost a month, he even found “secret” places as he liked to call them; little areas of lush grass that could hardly be called a garden. He often escaped there when the walls of his room became to confining. 

Kenma was very grateful to Akaashi for bringing the blonde back to his country with him, even more so grateful that Kuro let him stay. Kenma could honestly and truly say that he enjoyed living here. Truly enjoyed it. The place was so unlike his old home, and yet, he still hadn’t found himself missing his old life at all. 

It was fun living in a place with so many interesting people. He had found it rather interesting to watch the interactions of Akaashi and Bokuto when they were together, and found it extremely amusing to watch Hinata and Kageyama argue. 

Kenma wouldn’t describe himself as a “people person” and probably never would, but the thought of interacting with someone wasn’t so much of a daunting task anymore as it was only a minor inconvenience. 

Unless that person was Kuroo Tetsurou. 

Kenma slightly cursed himself. He had been wandering the castle thoughtlessly and looked where he ended up. 

‘Strictly one place forbidden and you walk right to it.’ Kenma mentally chastised himself. He was in a very familiar part of the palace, one that he had successfully avoided for three whole days and yet here he was, one stupid stroll crumbling down all of his work. 

The one and only person he really didn’t want to see was standing in front on him, back turned to the blonde as he was talking to a very amused Bokuto. 

‘Okay.’ Kenma thought. ‘He hasn’t seen me. I can still get out of here.’ 

Kenma turned around and walked as quietly and as unnoticed as he could. He could see the corner, see the freedom right before his eyes, he was almost there… 

“Kenma!” 

Boom. it was like chain weights were suddenly wrapped round his legs an he could no longer move; his heart was beating fast and his body was tense. Why him? 

He did not leave, yet he did not turn around; he hoped he wasn’t being too rude to his king. 

“Kenma, I haven’t seen you in a while. How are you? Doing alright?” Kenma heard the footsteps traveling up to him and soon Kuro was in his vision as the older male touched his shoulder to move around and face him. 

Kenma shied away from he touch when the familiar sparks worked up his arm. Kuro eyed him curiously at the reaction, but removed his hand nonetheless. 

“I’m fine.” He lowered his face to the ground so he didn’t have to see those awful sharp eyes staring at him. Kenma hoped if he kept his answers short and curt, maybe Kuro would leave him alone. 

“Weren’t you talking to Bokuto? It’s rather rude to suddenly abandon a conversation.” Kenma knew he was being extremely disrespectful, but couldn’t find a filter for his mouth. 

“And didn’t I tell you,” Kuro grabbed his chin and tilted Kenma’s face up abruptly. “That it’s rude not to look at someone when they’re talking to you?” 

Kenma’s eyes went wide at the low, steady voice that draped across him. The eyes he had been desperately trying to avoid were in front of him now, not wavering from his own golden orbs. 

Kenma couldn’t from words. The gaze that held his so steadily was wandering across his face now and the blonde couldn’t seem to breathe properly with how close Kuro was. 

Kuro was waiting for an answer, Kenma realized, and he grappled for any syllables that he could force out of his mouth. 

“S-Sorry.” He breathed, and unfortunately, it was the the best he could do. Kuro’s gaze turned soft and he dropped his hand, freeing Kenma. 

“It’s okay. Well, I just wanted to say hello since I haven’t had the chance to see you. I should go now though. Goodbye kitten.” Kuro slowly walked around the blonde but kept his eye contact the whole time. Kenma’s head turned with Kuro’s body, looking into those caramel eyes until his neck stopped, and he moved his gaze down to the floor in front of him. 

“Goodbye Kuro.” 

He finally felt as though he could move though his heart was still beating a little too fast for comfort. He could feel his face growing hotter at the thought of the nickname Kuro had once again used and he couldn’t quite figure out why even though all his life he had been compared to cats, this one man made it seem to be not the worst thing he could resemble. 

He wandered around the palace, now not so afraid of turning corners when he already faced the one person he didn’t want to see. The encounter wasn’t as bad as he was expecting; sure he couldn’t breathe all that well and his blood pumped way faster than was healthy, but he didn’t feel like puking this time. That was a plus in Kenma’s book. 

He wanted to get his mind off of the stupid black haired king and the best way to do that was to surround himself with his off the wall orange haired friend. 

Kenma didn’t know Hinata’s schedule or where in the world he would be at this time which meant, unfortunately, he had to ask around. 

He asked a few women who were standing around talking and they smiled at him before telling Kenma that Hinata was usually in the kitchen this time of day. He thanked them and changed his direction to the dining room he hadn’t been to in a while. He didn’t know if the correct way to enter the kitchen was through the dining room, but he didn’t know of another way in. 

The dining room seemed empty even though he usually only ate with two other people. Bokuto’s loud voice and big personality and Akaashi’s quick comments were enough to fill the space with a warm atmosphere that, if he didn’t spend too much time in, was quite nice. 

The door that led to the kitchen was propped open by a wooden bucket and Kenma pushed it open tentatively to peek his head inside. The kitchen was busy, as they were preparing for tonights dinner as well as finishing preparations for lunch and Kenma felt bad for interrupting them at such a busy time of the day and was going to abandon his little search when a woman came over to him and pulled him into he room. 

Kenma stumbled as the woman dragged him by the arm, weaving in and out of people holding hot pans and dirty dishes. She didn’t say anything to Kenma and he was just trying not to fall when they stopped in front of a large wooden door. 

“You’re looking for him right? Get him out of here for me please.” The lady opened wooden door to a huge pantry and Kenma looked down to the little figure sitting on the ground, stuffing their face with cheese. 

“Shoyou…” 

Hinata looked up when he heard his name being called and smiled happily when he saw Kenma. 

“Hey! What are you doing here?” Hinata said through a mouthful of food. 

“I didn’t know you worked in the kitchen.” 

“He doesn’t.” The lady said. “He just comes in here to eat all our food. Hinata get out.” 

Hinata smiled sheepishly and dusted himself off. 

“Let’s go Kenma!” Hinata said and started walking out of the door. 

The woman grabbed Hinata’s arm, pulling him to a stop and held out her other hand. “Food.” She said. 

Hinata rumbled and gave her the cheese that was still in his grasp. As soon as she let go of him, Hinata started running and Kenma hurried to follow after him, giving a bow and a thank you to the woman who helped him. 

“Hinata wait. Why are we even running?” Kenma yelled after his retreating friend. 

Hinata turned his head, pulling out another block of cheese from his robes he winked at Kenma and started laughing. Kenma was going to scold his friend, but found himself chuckling as well as he picked up his pace. 

They both ran through the palace, laughing and weaving through the people they passed. Luckily they didn’t actually run into people, as it seemed Hinata did this often and people naturally moved out of their way as they ran. 

They were both panting and out of breath when Hinata finally slowed down. Kenma looked around and noticed that they were standing outside of his bedroom now. Hinata opened the door and they both collapsed on Kenma’s bed. 

They were laughing and panting, trying to catch their breaths and feeling like they were about to die from the lack of oxygen. It took a while for them to calm down, there chests still heaving but their breath was more stable. 

“Want some?” Hinata asked holding out the cheese. 

“Sure.” Kenma reached over to break a piece off and popped it in is mouth. There was still a faint smile on his lips as he stared up at the ceiling. 

“Why’d you come looking for me? Everything okay?” Kenma turned his head to look at Hinata and nodded. 

“Yeah. I was just bored.” 

“Me too.” 

“So,” Kenma started. “How are you?” 

“I’m fine. I’ve been working like crazy though. Kageyama is so annoying, all he does is tell me what I do wrong. It’s not like i’m the worst worker here!” 

“Well you do seem to steal food a lot.” Kenma said. 

“Hey!” Hinata yelled. “I don’t do it all the time! Only like…three times a week or something.” 

Kenma looked at Hinata worried. “Do they not feed you here?” 

Hinata looked confused. “What? Of course they do. Three meals a day; I just like to have a snack sometimes.” 

“I was gonna feel sorry for you.” 

“Kenmaaa,” Hinata whined, pushing Kenma’s arm repeatedly. “You should take my side. We’re friends right?” 

“I won’t take your side just because we’re friends.” Kenma said shrugging off Hinata’s hands. 

“It’s not like I wanted to be a stupid servant anyways.” Hinata grumbled. 

“What did you want to be?” Kenma asked, curious. 

Hinata sighed. “Well I came to the palace to train as a guard. My grandpa was a knight and I always thought it was so cool!” Hinata’s eyes lit up as he flipped onto his stomach and waved his arms around. “I mean, they have these huge swords that cut through the air like “SWOOP” You know? And they can fight other people like “BAM” and “FWAHH” it’s just so cool!” 

Kenma didn’t know what swoop, bam, or fwahh meant, but he kind of understood what Hinata was saying. After all, Kenma had only just recently seen the appeal of fighting. 

“Why don’t you become a knight then?” 

Hinata slumped and the light in his eyes seemed to fade. “Because.” He explained. “My teacher said I wasn’t cut out to be a solder. Said I was too small and stuff.” 

“I didn’t know there was a height requirement to become a knight in this country.” 

“There isn’t.” Hinata shook his head. “He just said I was too scrawny and weak. It really sucked! I was training so hard too!” 

“How did you become a servant then?” Kenma asked. 

“I told Kuroo-sama that I wanted to quit my training and go back home. He said that I shouldn’t quit, but if I really wanted too I should at least stay and work in the place as a servant. It would pay a lot more than working on my parents farm and I could send the money back to them so they could take care of Natsu.” 

“Who’s Natsu?” Kenma asked in a gentle voice. He didn’t realize what a hard time his friend was having. 

“She’s my little sister. I may not be a knight, but at least working here I can send her to school.” 

Kenma smiled. “That’s nice. At least something good came out of it.” 

Hinata buried his head in his arms. “Wanna know what the worst part of it was?” 

His voice was muffled but Kenma could still pick out the strain in his voice. 

“What?” 

“I wasn’t the only one who quit.” 

“What do you mean?” Kenma asked. 

“The day I quit,” Hinata’s voice went high and it sounded like he was trying not to cry. “Kageyama quit too.” 

“Kageyama was training to be a knight?” 

“Yeah. He was good too, one of the best. People said he was a natural, a born genius.” 

“If he was so good why did he quit as well?” 

Hinata took a little while to answer this time, but Kenma was patient. 

“When I told him I didn’t want to be a knight anymore, he called me a liar. He was right but, it really ticked me off. I told him I really didn’t want to be one anymore. He got so mad; he kept telling me about how exited I was for every practice and how much I was looking forward to graduate from the academy.” 

Hinata’s voice cracked and Kenma could tell he was crying now. He slowly turned on his side and rubbed Hinata’s back. 

Hinata finally caught his breath and spoke. “He said that if I was gonna be a dumbass and quit, then he would quit as well.” 

“I tried to stop him.” Hinata continued. “But he said he wouldn’t go back unless I went back with him, no matter what. Kuroo-sama tried as well, but Kageyama just wouldn’t listen to anyone and he got a job here as well. Stupid Bakageyama.” Hinata finished. 

They sat in silence for a while and Kenma could hear the little hiccups that Hinata made that let him know the orange haired boy was still crying. Kenma wasn’t any good at comforting people but seeing his normally chipper friend so down really hurt him, and Kenma just did what he thought best, staying silent and rubbing his back until he felt Hinata sigh and calm down. 

“I think you would make a good knight.” Kenma said once Hinata was calm for a little while. 

Hinata turned his face toward Kenma and sniffled. “No one would want a little shorty to protect them.” 

“I would.” Kenma said and Hinata’s eyes widened. 

“You’re just saying that because you're my friend.” Hinata accused. 

“I told you.” Kenma said. “I won’t take your side just because you’re my friend You said there’s an academy right? If you graduated from there that means you’re qualified to protect anyone, and I would trust you with my life if you were qualified.” 

“You really mean it?” 

“Of course.” Kenma said, and he did, he really did mean it. 

Hinata looked glum again and Kenma wondered if he said something wrong. 

“Well it doesn’t matter now.” Hinata said. “I’m not even in training and I haven’t been for over a year.” 

“Why don’t you join the academy again?” Kenma asked. 

Hinata scoffed. “Yeah right. Do you know how hard it is to get in? Kageyama could probably do it since he’s a genius or whatever, but there’s no way I could.” 

“Well you never know until you try.” Kenma countered. 

“I can’t try. I already told everyone I was quitting for good, including Kuroo-sama. What king would trust a knight who’s changes his mind so often.” 

“I don’t think that’s true.” Kenma said. “You said it yourself, Kuro didn’t want you to quit; that must mean he has faith that you’ll return. Why would he make you stay here otherwise?” 

“It’s embarrassing…whatever, i’m a pretty good servant anyways.” Hinata huffed and re-buried his face in his arms. Kenma wished he could help his friend somehow, but really couldn't see a way to. He watched over Hinata until the smaller males breathing became even and he fell asleep. Kenma curled his body into a ball and just watched the orange haired male sleep. He felt his eyes get heavy, and he slowly closed them when the weight was too much to bare. His thoughts got more and more muddled the deeper he fell into unconsciousness until there was nothing left but blackness. 

~ ~ ~ 

Kenma abruptly woke up to a knock. His eyes few open and his head shot up. When they focused he looked around the room and noticed a lack of orange next to him. 

‘Must be Hinata.’ He thought. 

“Come in.” He said as loudly as he could and shut his eyes once more, hoping Hinata wouldn’t mind if he slept a while longer. 

He faintly heard the door open and close and soft footsteps coming up behind him. He shuffled his body to the left of the bed so Hinata could sit down and he relaxed when he felt the bed sink down behind him. 

“Let me sleep for a little more, ‘kay?” He slurred. He heard a hum in reply and curled himself into a tighter ball. He and Hinata had both fallen asleep on top of the blanket and even though Nekoma was a warm place, he always felt the need to bury himself when he slept. He was too lazy and tired to do so now, so he scooted his body until his back was pressed up against Hinata to hopefully steal some of the small males warmth; it seemed to work as he was unconscious again in seconds. 

~ ~ ~ 

This time when he woke up it was on his own. He slowly faded into reality and heard the soft sound of pages being turned and Kenma stretched his body with a muffled moan before going slack and pressing his face into Hinata’s leg. It was nice to have a friend you could be so comfortable with. 

“Good morning kitten.” 

Kenma hummed in acknowledgement and was about to comment on Hinata’s odd choice of greeting when something clicked in his mind, Hinata’s voice wasn’t that deep, his frame also wasn’t this large against Kenma’s and this scent… 

Kenma shot up so fast his head spun but he didn’t pay it any attention as all of it was focused on the very black blob currently in front of him. He rapidly blinked his eyes, trying to get them to focus and praying to whoever that the person sitting on his bed was in fact not who he thought it was. 

Of course Kenma was never one to have any luck as his life had proven and he was left staring at Kuro in all his kingly glory. 

“Why are you in my room?” Kenma quickly asked. He was trying to fight off the sleepiness he still felt and his heart was beating fast; though he didn’t know if it was because of being awoken so abruptly or because it always seemed to happen when he was around Kuro. 

“You invited me in.” Kuro replied. 

‘Damn it.’ Kenma thought. It wasn't fair if he didn’t know it was Kuro who he was inviting in. 

“Why didn’t you wake me up? Why are you sitting on my bed?” 

Kuro closed the book he had in hand and placed it on Kenma’s end table. “You said you wanted to sleep longer, who am I to wake you up?” 

“Oh of course, what was I thinking, it’s not like you’re the king or anything.” Kenma sarcastically replied. 

Kuro chuckled. “And I was going to go and sit out on your porch, but you moved over so I thought you wanted me to sit by you.” 

“I thought you were Shoyou.” Kenma said. 

“Is that why you snuggled up against me?” Kuro said with his signature smirk tugging at his mouth. Kenma’s face went red and he quickly tilted his head down to shield it from Kuro’s view. 

“Don’t worry, you weren’t asleep for long. I have to say though, you look really cute when you sleep.” 

Kenma exhaled sharply and his face gotten redder, if that was even possible at this point. 

“You’re hair’s really soft you know. It seems you like being pet like a cat when your sleeping; I swear I heard you purr and everything.” 

Kenma reached over to grab a pillow and he threw it at Kuro’s face. The man caught it while laughing and set it down next to him. Kenma huffed in annoyance and went to grab another but Kuro caught his wrists in his hands. 

“Now now, naughty kittens don’t get presents.” 

Kenma pulled his wrists free but didn’t reach for the pillow. Instead, he sat back and gave Kuro a suspecting look. 

“What do you mean presents?” 

Kuro’s smirk grew wider. “Oh? Does a present interest you?” 

Kenma glared at him. “I’m only wondering why you had to come bother me.” 

“Alright alright, Since you’re so curious I guess i’ll tell you why I came.” 

Kenma raised his eyebrow and waited for Kuro to start. 

“So you’ve been here, what, a month now?” Kuro asked. Kenma tentatively nodded. 

“And you’ve been stuck inside this place the whole time, you must be getting pretty bored.” 

“What are you getting at?” 

“Lets go outside.” Kuro said suddenly. He looked so happy at his statement but Kenma was only confused. 

“Like, to a garden…?” 

“No.” Kuro interrupted. “Like outside outside. Let’s go into town.” 

Kenma’s eyes widened. “We can do that?” 

“I’m the king.” Kuro said. “I can do whatever I want.” The smile on Kuro’s face was genuine and it made Kenma a little giddy. 

“Who is all going?” Kenma asked. 

“Just us.” 

Just us. Kenma replayed those words in his head and his heart started to beat out of rhythm. 

“Come one.” Kuro whined. “It’ll be fun. Besides, you haven’t been to town right? don’t you want to get out of this place for a little while?” 

Kenma had to admit, going into town didn’t seem like the worst thing in the world. He had been getting a little bored of doing nothing in the palace day in and day out. 

“I suppose…” Kenma said rather hesitantly. Kuro smiled and jumped off the bed. 

“Great! Let’s go right now!” He pulled Kenma’s arm to get the blonde to come off of the bed and practically dragged him out of his room. 

Kuro poked his head out the door and looked around. When he saw that no one was outside, he pulled on the hood of the robes he was wearing and pulled a mask over the lower half of his face. 

“You do realize it’s not winter right?” Kenma asked after seeing the ensemble. 

“If people recognize me in town we’ll never be able to see anything. It’s just a precaution. Now follow me and be quiet okay?” 

They were walking down the hallways close to the wall. Anytime someone appeared Kuro would immediately turn around and face Kenma. “Act natural.” He would say, as if Kenma was the one being weird. 

The hallways they were using became less and less populated and after a while Kuro loosened his grip on Kenma’s forearm. They walked in silence when a small wooden door came into view. 

“There’s are way out.” Kuro said pointing toward the door. 

“Why didn’t we just go out the front door?” Kenma asked. 

“Because,” Kuro explained. “It’s more fun this way.” 

Kenma didn’t really get what was so fun about walking a lot only to exit the palace through a small door, but he was already here and didn’t have any options. 

The door opened revealing a small stable. Kuro led them to a stall with a pure black horse and opened the door. 

“Do you want to get on first or should I?” 

“What? Why do we have to share?” Kenma asked. 

“We don’t have a lot of time. We have to leave now.” 

“Why are you in a rush I thought you said you could do whatever you wanted?” 

“Me first I guess.” Kuro said before he pet the horse and hopped on. 

“Wait the horse doesn’t even have a saddle-“ 

“No time.” Kuro interrupted. Kenma was going to argue but suddenly Kuro reached down and wrapped his arm around Kenma’s waist. He pulled the smaller boy up who immediately tried to squirm out of his grasp. 

“Wait. Kuro-“ 

“Up you go.” Kuro hoisted Kenma the rest of the way up and sat the blonde just in front of him. 

“Hold onto her mane tightly; we don’t want you falling off.” 

“How are you going to steer?” Kenma asked bewildered. 

“She knows where to go.” Kuro clicked his tongue and the horse started walking. Kenna scrambled to grab her mane and Kuro’s arms reached around him to also thread his fingers in the hair. 

The horse seemed to know exactly where to go and she walked straight to the end of the barn where Kuro picked up a broom to push the door open. The horse pushed herself through the crack in the door and Kuro dropped the broom, once again threading his fingers in her mane. 

They were walking outside now, down a small and secluded dirt path surrounded by tree’s. Kenma tried to keep the physical contact with Kuro to a minimal, but all of his concentration was going into not falling off of the horse. Riding bareback was way harder than he thought. 

“Here.” Kuro said. He untangled his hands and slowly pushed on Kenma’s shoulders to get him to lean back. “Better right?” Kuro said once Kenma’s was leaning with his back pressed on his chest. 

Kenma wanted to move, but Kuro was steady and it really did help him keep his balance better. Kuro moved arm to wrap around Kenma’s waste and the blonde froze. This was entirely too much contact and he was afraid his heart was going to explode. Even through their clothes Kenma could still feel the sparks running up and down his body and there was a strange tingling sensation in the places Kuro’s body touched his. 

“You don’t need to do that…” Kenma breathed. He was having a hard time forming words. 

“I don’t want you to fall.” Kuro answered. 

“I won’t fall. You really don’t-“ 

“Shhh.” Kuro interrupted. 

Kenma sat quiet and tense for a while before he heard and felt Kuro chuckle. “You don’t have to be so stiff.” 

Kenma huffed. “Who’s fault is that?” 

“It’s not my fault horses make you uncomfortable.” 

“Horses?” 

“Oh i’m sorry.” Kuro said. “Is it me that makes you uncomfortable?” 

Kenma didn’t say anything because he did not want to let Kuro know the effect he had on the blonde. 

Kuro chuckled and pulled Kenma a little tighter to him. Kenma was determined to at normally; this was just some stupid guy, who cares that his grip is strong and Kenma has never felt more secure than he did right now? 

Kenma shook his head to get the increasingly embarrassing thoughts from forming and focused on the road ahead of him. They were farther down the dirt path now and Kenma could see the outline of the city in the distance. 

The ride was relatively short, maybe 20 minutes or so, but Kenma couldn’t wait for it to be over. It was partly that being this close to Kuro for this long made his skin feel as if it was on fire, he never had any physical contact for this long in his whole life and he figured maybe that was why his body felt as light as it did. The other reason was his pure excitement. He had never been in the city before and after a month of sitting in a palace he was ready to explore a new place. 

The world suddenly got very dark and Kenma tipped his head up to see a block of land above him. 

“Ah, the floating lands. They’re beautiful aren’t they?” Kuro asked when he noticed Kenma’s gaze. 

Kenma nodded and stared at the land as they passed under it. The earth fascinated him. Everything about it was a mystery and he wished he could see the view from the top. 

“Have you ever been up there?” Kenma asked. 

“Once.” Kuro responded. “When I was a child. It’s rather hard to get to, so I don’t do it as i’m pretty busy.” 

“How do you get up there?” Kenma asked. 

“Now now kitten, I can’t just tell our ancient secrets to anyone.” 

Kenma huffed. Half for being denied an answer and half for the way that stupid nickname made his body shiver involuntarily. 

“Ah! we’re almost there! I’m so exited kitten, I haven’t been to the city in months!” 

Kenma glanced forward at the words and noted that they were, in fact, close to town. Kenma could see people littering about, walking and talking to each other. No one payed them any attention as they passed by, the laughter from the townsfolk direction their attention away from the undercover king. Kuro pointed to a small barn tucked away between some buildings and the horse made it’s way over as if it done it a thousand times before. 

A man was outside in an instant, gently petting the horse as it came to a stop. Kuro unlatched his hand from around Kenma’s waist and hopped down, holding out a hand for Kenma to take. 

Not like Kenma would. 

He tried to swivel his way off of the large horse, scanning the area to put together a plan that wouldn't involve falling to the ground. Kenma had always been smart and being a favor runner had made him have pretty good stamina and speed but the blonde was never nimble, and it showed as he tried swinging his leg behind him, only to slip as there was nothing for him to regain his balance one. 

He felt the world slip out from under his and he desperately grappled for anything to keep his body from hitting the ground. He gave up quickly though as the only thing he was grasping at was air. Kenma closed his eyes tight to prepare for the shock when he felt strong arms wrap themselves around him and the momentum from his fall was suddenly cut short. 

He opened his eyes slowly when he was sure he was indeed not moving and looked up into the eyes of Kuro, which were entirely too amused for Kenma’s liking. 

“What a dismount.” Kuro said between chuckles and Kenma’s face grew red in embarrassment. It grew even more red, however, when Kenma realized that Kuro was holding him in a way much like that of a woman being swept off her feet. He quickly started squirming in Kuro’s arms, desperate to get out of the compromising position. 

Kuro let him down easily and even helped Kenma steady himself, much to the blondes dismay. When he was sure Kenma was securely on the ground, Kuro turned to the man and tossed him a coin from his coin purse. The man caught it easily and clicked his tongue to get the horse to follow him. Kuro turned to Kenma when they were gone and nodded his head. 

“Are you ready to go?” Kuro asked him. Kenma stepped back, letting Kuro take the lead and fell instep beside him. 

“Where do you wanna go first?” Kuro asked. 

“I’ve never been here before. I don’t know where there is to go.” 

Kuro chuckled a little. “Right, I forgot. I’m exited so please excuse anything stupid I say today.” 

“I already do that, today is no different.” Kuro looked at Kenma with wide eyes and Kenma feared he had been too rude, but Kuro tipped his head back and laughed and the sound made Kenma shiver and warm up all at the same time. 

They walked around the lively town and everything caught Kenma’s eye. The grounds made of colored stone that looked like it was it’s own painting and nicely complimented the equally colorful buildings on top of it, the people bustling about in their colorful clothing, the different types of cats roaming the street; all of it was fascinating to him. 

The town was packed tight, not just in people but in architecture too. The buildings were not very tall but they were all close together, giving the allusion of one big unit. The windows in all the homes were open and people leaned out to talk to others on the street. The town was merry and full of laughter and even though Kenma was unused to this sort of atmosphere he felt that it was pleasant. 

There were little stalls littering the street, all selling goods and food that seemed pleasant to Kenma. The blonde looked to his left to see a rather long line and when he looked closer at the product he immediately stopped. 

“Do you want one?” Kuro asked after checking why the blonde suddenly stopped walking. 

Kenma eagerly nodded his head and they fell in line, the smaller male slightly bouncing the whole time. 

“Don’t be impatient kitten.” Kuro said as he laughed but Kenma paid him no mind. He was too exited. 

Finally they reached the front of the line and Kuro ordered for them, handing the man a coin for payment they waited until it was done. 

Kenma eagerly reached out his hands when the man behind the counter held out his treat. Kuro thanked the man and they both bowed before moving on so other people could order. Kenma took a bite and immediately his mouth was filled with sweet sugar and warm flavor. 

“You really like apple pie don’t you?” Kuro said and Kenma nodded his head, not wanting to speak so long as his mouth had other more desirable things to do. 

Kenma took another bite and the pain of the temperature caught up to him. He breathed through his mouth, desperately trying to cool off the dessert in his mouth as it scalded his tongue. 

“Don’t be so eager kitten, you need to be careful so as not to hurt yourself.” Kuro took the little bag with Kenma’s treat in it out of his hands and the blonde whined, trailing it with his fingertips. Kuro lightly slapped his hands away, holding it up high so Kenma couldn’t reach it. 

“You’re rude.” Kenma said after giving up on taking it back. Damn Kuro with his stupid height. 

“I’m not taking it away for good. You can have it back when it cools down.” 

“I’m not a child.” Kenma snapped back. 

Kuro didn’t seem to mind his rather harsh tone and continued holding his treat. “You’re sure acting like one.” 

Kenma side eyed him and decided not to grant the man with an answer. He heard a noise to his left and looked back toward Kuro, who was now gently blowing on his pie to cool it down. Kenma watched as he held his mask down to make way for his lips, which puckered in the slightest to direct the air to the steam coming off of the sweet. 

He blew gently but strongly and his lips grew ever closer to the dessert as he did so. He pressed the sweet against his lips after a while of blowing, darting his tongue out to catch the small crumbs that accumulated because of the action. 

He snapped his mask back up and looked back to Kenma. “It’s cooler now.” He said. 

He held the sweet out to Kenma and for a reason he couldn’t understand, Kenma felt embarrassed. Kuro’s lips had touched that food and now Kenma’s were going to as well, the though made a slight warmth surge through him. 

Kenma reached his hands up but Kuro pulled away slightly, and the blonde dropped his hands in confusion. 

“Just a bite.” Kuro said, holding the sweet closer to Kenma’s face. The smaller male leaned over and took a tentative bite, a bit embarrassed to being fed in public, but he wasn’t just going to turn down apple pie. 

The bite he took now was warm and delicious and he could actually enjoy the taste now that his tongue was being burt anymore. Kuro retracted his arm, taking the sweet along once again. 

“I feel like a child now.” Kenma said. 

“I don’t think you can control yourself with this, and I don’t mind cooling it for you.” 

And he didn’t. As they walked all over the lively town, exploring its shops and stalls Kuro would only reach his hand out to Kenma when he deems the pie cool enough to eat. Kenma was still a bit embarrassed by the whole thing, but found it to be quite useful when they were in a shop, as he could pick up and admire items without worrying about getting crumbs all over it. 

Kuro fed Kenma the last bit of pie, popping it in his mouth and threw the baggy into a trash as they passed it. They wandered a bit, Kuro pointing out different things that he thought were cool, and Kenma asked questions about strange objects he found. 

They passed a fountain and Kenma remembered it as the one he passed to get to the palace when he first arrived. It’d been about a month since he arrived into Nekoma and his knew life. He only realized how little he thought of his old home. It all seemed like a dream, a nightmare really; he never knew his life could be so simple and nice. 

“The sun should set soon.” Kuro said after they had been exploring for a while. Kenma looked toward the sun to see that it did indeed seem to be hanging low in the sky. 

“Are we leaving?” Kenma asked. 

Kuro grabbed his forearm and like usual, the sparks shot through his body, though it was getting easier to ignore. “I want to go to one more place before we leave.” 

Kuro tugged on his arm and they were walking again, passing by the slowly diminishing crowd. Kenma let himself be dragged, in too high of sprits to really care. They walked by a group of children playing a game and Kenma, though small, smiled a them. 

It was getting late in the day, the sun not quite set but getting there and the town filled up with the sent of different food being cooked for dinner. The air was warm and there was a nice breeze drifting over Kenma’s skin and the faintest glimpse of Kuro’s own sent mixed in with the air, it was now becoming a scent of familiarity and Kenma thought that maybe this was what is was like to be content. 

They kept walking at a leisurely pace, not quite in a hurry, and enjoyed more of the town as they walked. More and more people were disappearing into their homes for supper which left the previously busy street bare, easily maneuverable and yet Kuro still did not let go of Kenma’s arm. 

They arrived at the edge of the city and Kuro looked out at their destination. “You wanted to go to the sea?” Kenma asked. 

“I find it relaxing. Do you not?” 

“I wouldn’t know” Kenma said. “The only time I was by the sea was to travel here, i’ve never been to it just for fun.” 

“Well,” Kuro started. “I really enjoy coming here, especially at sunset, the water’s really beautiful then.” 

Kenma looked to the sun and guessed they had around 30 minutes or so before the sun really did set. “So what do you do at the sea when you’re not traveling?” Kenma asked. 

“Hmm…” Kuro let go of his arm and put a finger to his chin in a thinking gesture. “Well, children tend to build things in the sand and play in the water.” 

“And what do adults do?” Kenma questioned. 

“Well, they usually just sit on the beach and nap or talk.” 

“That sounds boring, I don’t suppose we could become children for a while?” 

Kuro pulled his mask down to give Kenma that signature smirk. “Of course kitten, aren’t we all children at heart?” 

Kuro took his mask off and removed hid hooded robe to stand in a simple black one. “So.” Kuro asked. “What would you like to do first?” 

Kenma thought for a moment before taking off in the direction of the water. 

“Hey! No fair!” He heard Kuro yell behind him and the blonde barley bit back a laugh. 

He made it to the waters edge and stopped just before it could touch him. He pulled off his shoes and tossed them behind him, before taking the edge of his robes and pulling them up, tucking the ends into the wrap around his waist. 

“W-What are you doing?” Kuro said from behind him. 

Kenma currently had one of his toes in the gently receding water. “I’m checking the temperature.” He said. “I don’t want to run into cold water.” 

“No- I mean…Your-your robes.” 

“My robes?” Kenma asked quizzically and looked down at his hastily tucked robes and frowned. “Well I don’t want them to get wet of course.” 

Kenma turned his head to a strangely silent Kuro only to see said mans face an impressive shade of red. 

“Kuro? Are you okay?” Kenma worriedly asked and he turned to face the taller male. 

“No-I- I mean yes i’m fine it’s just-…you’re so pale…” 

Kenma frowned up at him. “Well not all of us were graced with the sun their whole lives.” 

“No! That’s not what I meant at all!” Kuro looked panicked and was waving his arms in front of him. “It’s just different is all! It’s pretty!” 

Kenma’s face went red and Kuro’s went even darker. 

“I mean- just- shouldn’t you put your robes down? You don’t want to get a sunburn or anything.” 

Kenma looked down to the sun that was barely hanging in the sky and gave a ‘really?’ look to Kuro. 

“I don’t know why you’re acting like you’ve never seen legs before.” Kenma said. He lifted his right leg up and wiggled it in front of Kuro. “Everyone in this kingdom shows skin; way more than me all the time.” 

“I know!” Kuro said. “But- it’s just- it’s different.” 

Kenma didn’t understand how it was different. Maybe Kuro had a thing against white legs but he wasn’t about to argue about it. He turned away from Kuro, ignoring the man and walked a little into the water, trying to adjust to the temperature. Luckily both the land and the water were warm and Kenma was able to walk in with no problem. 

He stopped once the water hit his upper thigh, just below his robes and stood there, trying to keep his balance in the gently swaying sea. The air was salty, though not unpleasant and Kenma wiggled his toes and shifted a bit when he began to sink in the sand. 

He heard splashing from behind him and looked back to see Kuro making his way out to where he stood, robes rolled up. 

‘What a hypocrite.’ Kenma thought. 

Kuro stood next to him, the water reaching a little above his knee as he was quite a bit taller than Kenma. They stood there for a bit when Kuro suddenly lurched forward. 

“What are you doing?” Kenma asked as he watched Kuro turn in circles in the water. 

“I saw a fish.” The man replied. 

“Do you honestly think you could catch a fish, bare-handed, in the ocean?” 

“Shh.” Kuro shushed hum, holding out his finger. 

Kenma sighed but otherwise stayed quiet. 

“Don’t move.” Kuro instructed and Kenma crossed his arms, keeping as still as the water would allow. 

Kuro’s body was tense and rigid, he slowly turned his upper body to the left, eyes following something the water. Kuro got impossibly still, and right when Kenma was about to ask, once again, what he was doing, Kuro lurched forward and dived underneath the water. 

He was under for about a minute and Kenma was starting to get worried when Kuro popped back up, water spraying everywhere. 

“I caught it!” Kuro yelled. He held his right hand high and sure enough, there was a decent sized fish in it. 

“Are you impressed?” Kuro asked, wading through the water to make his way back to Kenma. 

“Incredibly so.” Kenma sarcastically responded. 

Kuro looked fake shocked for a moment then threw the fish back into the water. “What can I say?” Kuro said in a voice that sounded full of himself. “I’m not the king for no reason.” 

“You were appointed king because you can catch a fish? If that’s the case even I could become the ruler.” 

“Of course, there are other attributes one must have to becoming a great ruler.” Kuro said in a fake obnoxious voice. 

“Like your overwhelming strength and smarts that beat out the other competition?” Kenma sarcastically replied. 

“Where did you hear that from?” Kuro asked. 

Kenma shrugged. “From Akaashi.” 

“You asked about me?” 

Kenma froze because how could he be so stupid? 

“N-no.” Kenma stuttered. “It just came up in conversation.” 

“Do I come up in your conversations a lot?” Kuro had that infuriating smirk on his face and Kenma wanted to smack it off of him. He briefly wonder how the older male could go from a stuttering red faced mess to the cool and confident man standing in front of him now. 

“Of course not.” Kenma replied. “I tend to only like talking about things that are actually interesting.” 

“You wound me kitten.” Kuro dramatically said. 

Kenma didn’t want to embarrass himself with this conversation anymore and splashed Kuro, hoping to distract him. 

It worked, unfortunately for Kenma it seemed. 

As soon as the water hit the onyx haired man he smiled and bent down to splash Kenma back.“I don’t want my clothes to get wet.” Kenma whined. 

“Sorry kitten, but you started it.” Kuro then reached down again to shove water toward Kenma and the blonde turned slightly, the water hitting his side. He turned back around with determination in his golden eyes. If he was going to play, he was going to win. 

Kenma reached down with both hands to create a bigger splash and aimed it at Kuro. The man retaliated by copying him, and soon they were both splashing indiscriminately, not even aiming properly anymore. 

Kenma moved from his spot, walking farther away from Kuro to try and escape the water flying at him while haphazardly sending back his own. They were both completely drenched, Kenma’s robes sticking to his skin and he tried to roll up the dripping sleeves. The water was past his waist now, and a particularly large wave had Kenma toppling over and into the water. 

He struggled a little, body flipping and turning as he tried to breach the surface. He didn’t know which way was up or down and the salt stung his eyes whenever he tried to open them. It seemed like forever that he was thrashing down there, and his lungs burned as he tried to plant his feet on the ground he couldn’t find. 

Something wrapped around his arm and he was suddenly being pulled up, up and out of the water. He coughed and wheezed when his face hit the air and he planted his feet on the ground in a desperate attempt to stay above the water. 

“Oh my gods, are you okay?” Kuro asked worriedly. Kenma looked up at the man who saved him and tried to give him a reassuring look. 

“Sorry, can’t swim.” He managed to gasp out and Kuro’s eyes went wide before he leaned down to pick Kenma up. 

“Why didn’t you tell me?! More importantly, why would you get in the water if you can’t even swim?!” Kuro lectured Kenma as he waded through the water to get to shore. 

“I wasn’t exactly planning on being knocked over.” Kenma said, extremely embarrassed at once again being carried like some maiden out of a book. 

“You scared me kitten. Tell me these things next time.” The genuine worry coloring Kuro’s voice and face had Kenma’s body feeling warm despite the rapidly cooling air. 

He turned his gaze away from Kuro’s, those sharp caramel eyes once again too much for him to bare. “Sorry.” He mumbled. 

“It’s okay.” Kuro said as they finally hit land. “I’m just glad I was there in time.” 

Kuro made his way over to his robe that he’d discarded earlier and arranged it with his foot to be spread on the ground. He lowered Kenma down, placing him on the cloth, then sat next to him. 

Kenma pulled his knees up to his chest in a half hazard attempt to warm up as he was now soaking wet and freezing. “Are you sure we should sit on it like this? Won’t it ruin the fabric?” 

“It’s just clothes.” Kuro said. “I can always get a new one.” Kenma didn’t argue and folded into himself more tightly. 

Kuro shifted toward him until there sides were pressed together and wrapped an arm around his waist. Kenma’s body tensed, and he looked up to meet Kuro’s gaze questioningly. 

“You’re cold.” Kuro said matter of factly. “I can see you shivering.” 

“Are you not?” Kenma asked. 

“I’m used to it. Besides, the weathers still warm, you just have no meat on your bones to help keep you insulated.” 

Kenma gave him a half hearted glare and slowly relaxed his body; he hesitated a moment before tentatively leaning into Kuro. The man was like a furnace, nice and warm and Kenma pressed himself more firmly against his side, trying to transfer that heat over to himself. 

It was a little odd, sitting like this with Kuro; and even more so when you considered their positions, strangely though, it didn’t feel odd to Kenma, only a slightly chilly comfort and yet a heated disturbance. 

Kenma was thankfully warming up and it was not just his skin. While the body heat that radiated from Kuro’s frame was doing well to melt the water from his skin, the feeling of something, something he couldn’t name raged through his blood and pumped his heart faster, making his insides as warm as the touch that grazed across his skin from Kuro’s fingertips. 

They sat like that for a while, waiting to dry and for the sun to fall below the horizon. Kenma was slowly becoming less frigid and dripping, a good sign. Kuro wasn’t talking which initially put Kenma off and the blonde wondered why; silence had always been a comfort to him and yet he felt the strange urge to talk, to start a conversation and hear the taller males voice. 

Kenma glanced up at Kuro who was staring out at the sea. This man had been so nice to him his whole stay; him, a suspected murderer and good for nothing. Kuro owed him nothing and Kenma owed him everything and yet it seemed more like Kenma was the one who was high class and was someone important with the need of protection. 

The thought of Kuro protecting Kenma made the blonde’s gut clench in an uncomfortable way. 

“Umm…” Kenma started, trying to distract himself from the odd feeling gently creeping up his spine. Kuro turned his head to face him at the sound and stared expectantly at the younger boy. The gaze made his skin tingle and he thought that maybe Kuro’s undivided attention on him wasn’t the best thing right now. 

“I was talking to Shoyou today.” Kenma blurted. 

“Hinata? Well I would assume so; he is your server.” 

“That’s what we were talking about.” Kenma replied. “He was apparently training to be a knight?” 

“Ah.” Kuro said looking back out into the sea. He removed his arm from Kenma’s side and placed it on his knee. Kenma felt oddly irritated at the gesture. 

“He was.” Kuro confirmed. “Kageyama as well. I was disappointed they quit.” Kuro’s eyes held an emotion Kenma couldn’t place. 

“Shoyou said his instructor had talked badly about him.” 

“I fired the man.” Kuro said, linking his fingers together. “I think anyone who wishes to defend our country should be allowed, in any way possible. Unfortunately, even after I told Hinata the news, he still didn’t come back.” 

“I think his confidence was hurt.” Kenma said. “I believe he wishes to train again, but feels guilty for abandoning the practice, then asking to pick it back up.” 

“I don’t care about that!” Kuro suddenly exclaimed. “If he only just told me he was ready to go back, I would put him in the program in a heartbeat.” 

“And Kageyama?” Kenma questioned. 

“Of course.” Kuro said. “Kageyama’s so annoying, that little genius. I sometimes wonder who would’ve been king if I was competing against him.” 

“He is that impressive?” Kenma asked. The most he’s seen Kageyama do is yell at Hinata and drink milk. Not very impressive stuff in Kenma’s eyes. 

“Infuriatingly so. Though, since i’m king now, and i’m pretty secure with my position, I think Kageyama should definitely re-join.” 

“I don’t believe he’d go if Shoyou didn’t.” Kenma said. 

Kuro sighed and ran a hand through his steadily drying hair. The inky locks were pressed against his head in a much tamer fashion than normal. It was an unexpected difference, yet a subtly pleasant one. 

“I agree with that. If Hinata doesn’t want to go then I can’t force him. I mean, I can…being king and all you know, but I won’t.” 

Kenma’s ears perked up at that bit of sentence. “Why don’t you?” 

“Umm…” Kuro looked at him like he was crazy. “Because i’m not a ruthless monster who forces people to do things against their will?” 

“Shoyou obviously wishes to train again, he even cried to me today.” Kuro’s eyes shot open wide and concerned at the statement. “So, why don’t you send him and Kageyama back to the academy? King’s order or something; or, just don’t tell them where they’re going, that way they can’t refuse out of guilt.” 

“Are you telling me to kidnap two of my palace servants and force them into physical labor?” Kuro said sarcastically. 

Kenma rolled his eyes. “Look, if they get there and still adamantly refuse, then go ahead and have them come back. Like you said, you shouldn’t force them, but you can gently push them into making a decision on their own.” 

Kuro seemed thoughtful for a moment then suddenly smiled, a bright thing that had Kenma’s insides flipping in all different directions. 

“What would I do without you kitten?” Kuro said. 

Kenma thought that Kuro wouldn’t really miss him if he left and was sure to get along fine if they’d never met, but he found some sort of joy in the delusion that Kuro, that somebody, needed him. 

Kuro smiled until he pointed to the sun and Kenma looked just in time to see the waters turning orange and purple in the receding light, and they both watched the slow decent of the sun go under the horizon and transition into the captivatingly large moon that bound off of the deep blue of the ocean. 

“We should get going.” Kuro said, standing up and brushing off the sand that clung to his body. 

Kenma hummed in acknowledgement and stood up as well, unrolling his sleeves and untucking his robes so they swept against his feet. He walked to wear he had previously thrown his shoes in haste and pulled them on as Kuro picked up his robes from the ground and reapplied his mask. Kuro turned around and waited for Kenma to catch up before they slowly started walking back toward the town. 

Kenma would say that pretty much all of his days in this new sunny kingdom were good ones, and even though he didn’t know what it was, maybe the town, maybe the beach or the people, but he found himself thinking that this day could very well top his list.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading! Over 1000 hits on this story is so amazing! I'm a super noob to writing fan fiction so i'm just happy that you guys are reading, and thank you to all of those of you who do. 
> 
> Have a great day my loves! I'll see you at the next chapter! 
> 
> ~Ky~


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey sorry it's been so long! I don't have an excuse besides i'm just a piece of shit so sorry for all that. Anyways really hope you enjoy! 
> 
> (Also I didn't beta this cause I just wanted to get it up, but I will later. Please bare with the mistakes fore now.)

“Kuroo Tetsurou you have exactly 10 seconds to explain yourself.” 

Both Kenma and Kuro froze at the sound of a very angry voice being directed at them. They had only just walked back into the castle after their journey back from the town and while Kenma had though it beautiful and refreshing, he was quite tired from all the excitement and was very ready to head to bed. 

When he looked over to the voices owner and saw a very livid Akaashi with a slightly scared looking Bokuto behind him, he had a distinct feeling that would not be an option. 

Akaashi was clearly waiting for some type of explanation and Kenma glanced over at Kuro to see the mans eyes blown wide in what could only be described as panic. “Um…” Kuro started; but upon seeing the irritated raise of Akaashi’s eyebrow and the impatient tap of his foot, he blurted out “Look! I wore a mask this time!” 

“As if covering up half your face makes me feel any more reassured. Honestly your hair gives you away more than anything else.” 

Kuro raised his hand to his head in a sheepish attempt to cover the mess of hair that lay atop it, moving his other to remove the mask. “Don’t be mad Akaashi! I just wanted to take Kenma here out to enjoy our beautiful country!” Kuro said with a smile too tight to be anything but forced. 

“You’re just trying to pawn the blame off on somebody else. As if a foreigner would know the rules here” Akaashi huffed and crossed his arms in front of his chest. “Honestly not only are you putting yourself in danger, but Kenma-san as well. What would you do if someone attacked you? You didn’t even bring Bokuto-san with you.” 

“I wouldn’t have let him go out Akaashi!” Bokuto exclaimed loudly, clearly trying to win favor. Kuro looked at him with betrayal in his eyes. 

“Yes well I didn’t take Bokuto-san” Kuro said petulantly while Bokuto stuck his tongue out. “with us because I didn’t need him. I’m perfectly capable of protecting Kenma and I in my own territory.” 

Kenma stood silently watching the situation unfold. While seeing Akaashi angry was more than a little unnerving, Kenma knew that he wasn’t the one in trouble. In fact… 

“Kuro told me that we could leave freely since he was the king. If I remember correctly his words were “I can do whatever I want.”” 

Kuro looked down at him in surprise that quickly turned into a pout at being turned in. Kenma shrugged and looked toward the floor. He wasn’t going to take the fall for Kuro; king or not. 

“Do whatever you want?” He heard Akaashi said incredulously. 

“No-Akaashi, I didn’t mean it! It was a joke! Right Kenma?!” Kuro turned toward him, eyeing him frantically but Kenma only looked to the side and scuffed his foot on the ground. 

“It didn’t sound like a joke to me…” Kenma muttered. Kuro made a surprised scoff and turned back to Akaashi, a plead already on his tongue, but Akaashi spoke first. 

“Well, mister all mighty king, since you’re clearly such a great and talented ruler that has so much free time, how about you work on all of your important documents by yourself. I’m sure the 250 agreements you have to sign will be a breeze for a ruler as amazing as you.” 

Kuro’s eyes widened in horror and he reached a quivering hand toward Akaashi who had began to turn around to make his leave. “Akaashi, wait-“ 

“Oh.” Akaashi suddenly stopped and turned to face the now half scared to death king. “Since you have clearly stated that you are no longer in need of Bokuto-san and are as good a fighter as the both of you combined, why don’t you take his training regimen and add it to your own? I’m sure it’ll be easy for a skilled fighter like yourself.” 

Akaashi turned and walked away, shortly followed by Bokuto who threw a sympathetic glance toward the now silent and frozen in place Kuro before running after the man who gave the equivalent of a death sentence to the poor king. 

Kuro’s mouth was gaping open and his hand was still outstretched in a hopeless attempt at calling Akaashi back and changing his fate. Kenma stood there, kicking at nonexistent rocks on the floor and wondering when it would be an appropriate time to excuse himself. 

“You..” Kuro began but trailed off. Kenma glanced in his direction but made no move to turn to him. “You totally ratted me out…” He finished. 

“I wouldn’t have gone if I knew you were lying.” Kenma mumbled. 

“I didn’t lie!” Kuro yelled and Kenma flinched. Kuro immediately lower his voice, though he didn’t lose the near whining tone of it. “I just…stretched the truth a little.” 

“Stretching the truth doesn't get you a punishment like that.” 

“Well…still…I mean, i’m not expecting you to take the fall for me, but you didn’t have to speak up about it!” 

Kenma would've been afraid of seriously angering the king if not for the sag of his shoulders and pout on his lip. Kuro really was just behaving like a child who got scolded. 

“Well it’s over now, and i’m tired so i’m going to go to bed.” 

“Wait!” Kuro reached out to grabs shoulder and Kenma bit back a sigh. “I’m not done talking yet.” 

“Well my king, we could stay up all night listening to you, but I think it would be wise for you to get started on all of those papers you have to sign; don’t you agree?” Kuro dropped his hand and Kenma quickly started walking away. 

“Thank you for today, and goodnight.” 

~~~ 

The next few days happened mostly as Kenma had expected. With Kuro being very, extremely busy. He didn’t doubt for a moment that Akaashi would punish Kuro for apparently breaking the rules, but he didn’t expect him to quite follow his words exactly. He heard from the palaces staff that Akaashi had followed his words and left Kuro to deal with all of his papers by himself; and not just the old ones, but every small and meaningless matter that usually never made it to the kings ears were being handled directly by the man himself. 

Kuro had also apparently been doing not only his normal intensive training regimen, but also taking on Bokuto’s just as Akaashi had directed it. It seemed as though him and Bokuto were enjoying spending time together, in a sort of small, in-home vacation. Kenma didn’t understand why Kuro actually listened to Akaashi, as technically Kuro held more power over him, but Kenma was more than a little frightened to question it. 

He had also been seeing less and less of Hinata lately. The ginger still came by his room everyday to help him with his dressing and bathing, but usually the small male stayed with Kenma most of the day as an excuse to not do his other chores. However, when Kenma questioned his small ginger friend, he had only told Kenma, “It’s a secret! Just wait for now!” 

Well, Kenma was never a nosey person anyway. 

His days passed by in a slow lull. With Hinata away all the time, and Kuro too busy to even eat properly, Kenma found himself alone most of the time. Not that it was a problem; in fact, Kenma was rather enjoying the solitude. He fell into a rhythm; wake up, eat, work on is puzzles, read a bit, nap, play some more, if he was feeling really adventurous he would wander around the castle, taking in the sheer beauty of the place. 

He never was one to focus on the grandness of such things, being born as a lower class, he never had the time or means for it; still, he couldn’t help but feel a little breathless as he trailed his hand over a soft patch of moss growing on the wall he was passing now. A small bid chirped as it flew past him and he followed it with his eyes to see it land in a small nest high up in the arches of the structure. He heard more chirping and saw two much smaller heads poke up. ‘Ah.’ He thought. ‘It must be their mother.’ 

Kenma tried to remember his own mother. The thoughts were foreign, Kenma had always accepted that he didn’t have parents, and was always fine with it. But now, as he looked at the mother bird feed its babies, he wondered just what it would be like if he had had someone to take care of him when he was young. The thought gave him a slightly bitter taste in his mouth, so he pushed it aside and continued on with his walk. 

It was later in the evening that he was perched on the end of his bed, fresh out of the bath as Hinata vigorously rubbed at his wet hair that he heard a knock on the door. Hinata quickly went to open it, revealing behind it Akaashi. 

“May I come in?” He asked. Kenma nodded and Hinata shut the door as he walked into the room. 

“Do you need something?” Kenma asked. 

“No. I haven’t seen you in a while, I was wondering how you’d been.” Akaashi moved further in the room and eventually sat next to Kenma on the bed. 

“Thats because you’ve been so busy with Bokuto-san, Akashi-san.” Hinata said teasingly, moving to sit on the cushioned bench at the foot of his mattress. 

“Yes, well, we can’t all spend as much time together as you and Kageyama do.” 

Hinata blushed and started sputtering furiously. “W-w-we work together! No one would spend time with that idiot if they weren’t forced!” 

“Of course how could I forget. Two servants who are stationed at opposite ends of the castle would obviously bump into each other every day.” 

“It’s just a coincidence! Besides, Kuroo-sama and Kenma-san spend more time together than we do! I heard they even went out together!” Kenma, who had been silently listening to the back and forth, jumped at the sudden statement. 

“I can’t refuse a kings request.” 

“A pretty troublesome king.” Akaashi muttered under his breath. “Kenma is correct though, while he doesn’t have the position to rightly refuse a request from Kuroo-sama, you could certainly tell Kageyama to leave you alone.” 

Hinata threw his hands up in frustration. Groaning, he said. “It’s not like that ever works! Besides he’s just annoying like that! If I told him to leave he would stay just to annoy me! Gods I hate him!” 

“You sure don’t seem to hate him.” Akashi said with a lilt to his voice. 

“I do!” Hianta yelled. He grabbed his orange tresses and pulled them as he spoke. “He’s just so annoying! Every time he talks it’s just to yell at me! And that’s all he ever does! Just yell yell yell, nag nag nag, calling me “dumbass” this and “dumbass” that! Every time I hear it my blood boils and my palms get all sweaty and I can’t even breath cause I wanna hit him so bad!” 

Kenma was listening with the faintest of smiles on his lips as he listened to Hinata ramble about all the annoying things Kageyama does on a regular basis. He focused in on a particular section when he realized they all sounded familiar. His blood may never had boiled but he certainly did tend to feel hot, his palms got sweaty and the rest off his body at that and more than once he had found it particularly hard to breath. He hadn’t thought these feelings were anything particularly negative, but they were so foreign, how was he supposed to know? 

“Oh my gods.” He whispered, causing Hinata to stop his angry hand gestures and flit his eyes to the blonde. Akashi looked at him curiously as Kenma stared in barley contained horror down at his lap. 

“What is it?” Akaashi asked gently. 

Kenma looked up into both of the curious gazes fixed on him and wondered just what to do about his awful new discovery. 

“I hate Kuro.” 

… 

Akaashi and Hinata looked shocked at his sudden outburst. “You what?” Akaashi said. 

“Kuro. I think I hate him.” 

“What? Why?” Hinata said, baffled. “You two seem to get along pretty great. He even took you to see the town.” 

Both their eyes screamed confusion but Kenma stared back with the same expression. “I know. I didn’t realize until just now.” 

“What makes you say that?” Akaashi asks. His face takes on a more shocked expression. “Did he do something to you?” 

“No!” Kenma replied quickly. Even though he apparently hated Kuro, he didn’t want there to be any misunderstandings about the man. “It’s just…when Shoyou was explaining how he felt about Kagayama…I realized that I experienced a lot of the same symptoms when I was around Kuro.” 

Akaashi’s eyes went impossibly wide before they closed. He covered his mouth with his hand and and looked at the floor, but before long his body was shaking with laughter. Unable to hold it in, he threw his head back and laughed as a confused Kenma looked at him, even more confused at Akaashi’s odd reaction than he was to his own confession. 

“Oh my gods.” Akashi said as he caught his breath from laughing so hard. He wiped the tears that had formed in the corner of his eyes and let out a few giggles here and there. “You’re even more clueless than Hinata.” 

“What?” Kenma said at the same time Hinata shouted an offended “Hey!” 

“You don’t hate Kuroo-sama Kenma. People don’t willingly spend that much time with people they hate, king or not.” 

“But…what Shoyou was saying…” 

“Hinata doesn’t hate Kageyama either, they just get on each others nerves.” 

“I do! I do hate Kageyama!” Hinata tried to convince them. 

“Now that you mention it…I did find it odd that Shoyou had such strong negative feelings for a person he spoke so highly about.” 

“Shut up Kenma!” Hinata hissed with a redding face. 

“Then,”Kenma turned to face Hinata. “You were lying about all of the things you said?” 

“No! He really does get under my skin!  He’s so annoying all the time and all he does is yell at me!” 

“So…you do hate him?” Kenma asked confusedly. 

“Well…I mean…not technically…but, like-he’s just dumb!” Hinata yelled in finality. 

He definitely doesn’t hate Kageyama, though their bickering could suggest otherwise.” Akaashi threw a knowing smirk in Hinata’s direction which the younger pointedly looked away from. “Just as how you don’t hate Kuroo-sama.” 

“Then why do I react this way whenever he’s around? I’ve never had any of these symptoms, and i’ve also never hated anyone before. Surely it would make sense.” 

“Maybe you just think he’s hot.” Hinata said offhandedly. 

“Hot…?” Kenma said in a questioning manner. “His temperature seems normal to me.” 

“He means his appearance.” Akaashi interjects again. “That you find Kuroo-sama attractive.” 

Kenma looked at the others in mortification. “What? I highly doubt it’s that. I mean, Kuro is a man.” 

“So?” Hinata said. 

“And?” Akaashi questioned. 

Of course. Akaashi and Bokuto were in…that sort of relationship, and Akaashi had just said that Hinata and Kageyama were starting down that path. It made sense that they would think of this. 

“I don’t find Kuro attractive.” Akaashi gave him a ‘really?’ look, but Kenma continued anyway. “That may be how it happens in this country, but where I come from, you just don’t see that.” 

“Doesn’t mean it doesn’t happen.” Hinata scoffed. 

“Well, even if it did, it doesn’t happen to me. Especially not to Kuro.” 

“What’s wrong with Kuroo-sama? You just said you don’t hate hime!” Hinata asked confusedly. 

“Just because I don’t hate him doesn’t mean I like him in a romantic way. My relationship with Kuro is strictly platonic, if not bordering on a work based one.” 

“Ah yes, It’s only natural to have secret rendezvous with the people you work with.” Akashi said offhandedly. 

Kenma felt his face heat up and immediately made his hair curtain around his reddening face. “It wasn’t a secret. Or a rendezvous. It was just getting some fresh air.” 

That’’s why we have gardens Kenma-saaan~” Hinata said, clearly enjoying teasing the older male. 

“So you’ve never thought about anything that could be considered romantic when it came to Kuroo-sama?” Akaashi said. Kenma shook his head. 

“You’ve never even had a passing thought about him? Never thought he looked good or was impressive?” Hinata added. 

Kenma thought for a moment. “I guess I thought his fighting skills were impressive. But I also think that Bokuto-san is impressive as well.” 

“I think he really is clueless.” Kenma heard Akaashi mutter. 

“So you’ve never thought about holding hands or kissing him or anything?” Hinata said. 

Kenma shook his head vehemently because of course not! Who would ever think such things? Especially about a man who keeps romance novels in their desk drawer. 

“No.” He settled on, giving on an air of nonchalance. “Though I suppose with how much you’re questioning me, it must be because these are all the things you’ve imagined with Kageyama? Am I correct?” 

This time it was Hinata who got flustered. He floundered for words to defend himself and when nothing came out he shouted. “I have chores to attend to! Excuse me!” And rushed out of the room leaving behind a laughing Akaashi and a slightly smug Kenma in his wake. 

Akaashi was still chuckling when he turned back to Kenma, but his eyes soon grew to be serious as he studied the blonde. 

“I hope we haven’t offended you.” He said. “We were only teasing. Though I was being serious when I said you don’t hate Kuroo-sama; I believe you are both growing into good friends.” 

Friends. Kenma thought to himself. Of course, that’s what they were. 

“It’s okay Akaashi. I got my revenge on one of you so I feel a little better.” 

Akaashi smiled fondly as he spoke. “It seems everyone besides the two know how they feel about each other. It’s always fun to tease them.” 

Akaashi stood up and stretched out his legs. “I’m afraid that it’s time for me to go. I’ve decided to let Kuroo-sama off the hook for now. He really has been working hard.” 

Kenma stood up with him and walked him to the door, wishing him a good night and good luck when it came to dealing with the pesky king. After shutting the door he walked slowly onto the balcony that looked over the town he had been in not too long ago; looking out at the ocean he and Kuro had drenched themselves in. It may not be fair for him to say, but even though Kuro got into trouble just to take Kenma out for a day, the blonde found himself not regretting it at all. 

He also found himself with a small smile on his face when thinking about the memories, which he promptly expelled off of his face and replaced it with a look of disgust. Since when had he gotten so mushy when reminiscing? The words that Akaashi and Hinata said earlier passed through his mind and he pushed them out before they could form properly. 

Kuro was a friend. Albeit an annoying one, but a friend nonetheless. It made sense that Kenma had not been familiar with the symptoms he had been experiencing; after all, just as Kenma had never had anyone he hated before, he had also never had a find either. He found himself thinking that while these new feeling and sensations were knew to him, they weren’t entirely unpleasant. 

When he was confident that he had rationalized all of his feelings and put them in a big box labeled “Friendship” he there one last look to the town that still was bustling even though the sky had darkened and walked back into his room. Blowing out the candles he let the light of the moon bright in the sky illuminate the way to his bed where he quickly got comfortable under the heavy blankets and let his mind wander off to sleep to the sound of the waves crashing against the earth. 

~ ~ ~ 

The sound of quiet knocking pulled him out of his slumber and he groggily sat up in his bed, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes. It was still dark outside, he couldn’t had been asleep for more than a few hours, which confused him. Why was he awake again? 

The knocks that sounded on his door again reminded him, and he stretched languidly before crawling out of his cocoon of blankets to answer it. He nearly tripped three times on his way to the heavy wooden door and cursed his body for being so stupidly unresponsive when he needed it. He finally made it to the door and opened it to see a tall figure looming before him. He started to panic when the figure moved toward him, but then a candle was being shone in his face and after he blinked to get used to the light, he found himself looking into familiar caramel eyes. 

“Kuro?” He spoke, his voice scratchy from lack of use. He rubbed his eyes with the back of his hand and looked sleepily up toward the man who now stood frozen staring at him. 

“Is something wrong?” He said when Kuro didn’t make a move to respond. 

The question seemed to snap him out of his trance and he sheepishly looked off to the side, bringing his left hand up to scratch at the back of his head. A gesture Kenma had come to realize meant he was nervous. “No, just…um…” His eyes flickered over Kenma’s form quicly before returning to whatever interesting spot was to the left of him. 

Kenma let his eyes drag over his own form and spotted the source of Kuro’s odd behavior. The nights were getting warmer as summer was beginning to roar it’s head, and Kenma had gone from wearing his long cotton bed dress to a short and silk Yukata. The garment barley covered any of his legs and with the turning he had done in his sleep the silky material had fallen off of his right shoulder, exposing his pale collarbone and shoulder. 

Kenma’s face flushed a little at the inappropriate attire and quickly pulled the sleeve back up. “Come in.” He said to Kuro as he moved back to his bed, quickly covering himself with the blankets. 

Kuro closed the door behind him and moved toward the bed. Placing his candle on the bedside table, he also made his way on the bed. Moving Kenma over and climbing under the covers, Kenma looked at him in barley concealed confusion as the large man pulled the blankets over himself and lied down facing Kenma, patting the bed to urge the blonde to do the same. Though Kenma thought that this was incredibly strange, he wasn’t exactly opposed to it and laid himself down accordingly, though putting a little bit more space between him and the king. 

“What are you doing here?” Kenma asked. The room was dark but the moonlight washed over Kuro’s features enough for Kenma to see the genuine exhaustion that colored his face. 

“Akaashi finally came back to work.” Kuro said, his voice no more than a whisper. Kenma had to lean in closer to hear him properly. “So I decided that I could take some time to sleep in an actual bed for once.” 

“If you’re so tired,” Kenma whispered back. “Shouldn’t you go sleep in your room? We could always talk tomorrow.” 

“Guess I just missed you.” Kuro said as he let his eyes fall shut, and Kenma felt his breath catch in his throat. “Besides, your room’s a lot closer than mine.” 

Kenma tried to rationalize the pounding in his chest as just being surprised at the unexpected visitor, and had nothing to do with the proximity of said visitor to him. The words Akaashi and Hinata said earlier flashed through his mind again and he tried not to think about it; but with the person all the teasing was about in his bed, Kenma found it hard not to let his mind wander. 

When Hinata had asked if he had found Kuro attractive or not, Kenma had immediately answered no. He had never found someone attractive before, he didn’t really understand when it meant. Looking at Kuro’s face, he decided it wasn’t necessarily ugly per say. His skin was lightly tanned and had a glow to it that Kenma couldn’t describe; his features were all sharp and angular, and though there was a blanket obstructing his view, he knew that the body underneath was well carved out with years of training that left everything hard and defined. 

The mass of black hair that sat atop his head was something Kenma had been positive he’d thought was stupid before, but looking at it now, splayed across his pillow, it only left the odd desire in Kenma to run his hands through it. He wondered if it was soft. Speaking of hands, Kenma let his eyes wander to the one in between their bodies. Hinata said something about holding hands before, and Kenma silently moved his own to rest next to Kuro’s. Kenma’s hand was well smaller than the older males, and combined with the long slenderness of his fingers and paleness of his skin, he thought his hand looked a lot more fragile than the older mans. He found himself wondering if the scars and calluses that littered the others hand would feel unpleasant against his. His subconscious supplied him with the answer that it wouldn’t. 

The soft sound of breathing had Kenma’s eyes flashing quickly to the source of the sound. His eyes roamed over Kuro’s face again and though he would never admit it out loud, he deemed Kuro to one he considered attractive. He remembered one other thing Hinata had said; this one being the most shocking of all to him. His eyes trained themselves to the part of Kuro’s body he had subconsciously been avoiding; Kuro’s lips were parted slightly as he breathed, and KEnma found himself staring at them longer than he deems appropriate. What they feel like pressed against his own? Kenma had never kissed anyone before, had never wanted too; but looking at Kuro he found himself leaning in just a tiny bit. He wondered of Kuro’s lips would be soft, would the be wet as well? How would it feel to have Kuro’s breath pass over his face just as they got close enough to touch. Kenma licked his lips as he slightly moved closer. Would Kuro be warm pressed against him? How long could they be pressed together before Kenma would've to come back up for breath? Would they- 

“I can practically feel you thinking from here.” 

Kenma started so hard he practically jumped off the bed. His heart was beating wildly in his chest and he was thankful Kuro’s eyes were still shut. If he had seen just how close Kenma had been to him…he didn’t even want to know what the king would think of him. 

“If i’m making you uncomfortable, I could leave.” Kuro said. 

Kenma shook his head before realizing that Kuro couldn’t see him. “No.” He said. “No, it’s fine.” 

Kuro began to open his eyes and Kenma squeezed his shut. He felt that if they locked eyes now, Kuro would know all the deplorable things he’d been thinking. 

“Alright then. Goodnight Kenma.” Kuro said. 

“Goodnight.” 

It took him a little longer than usual, but after effectively turning his mind off, he fell into a peaceful, dreamless sleep. 

~ ~ ~ 

“Oh!” 

That was the first sound Kenma woke up to in the morning. He blearily opened his eyes and blinked against the morning sun that was poring in from his balcony. He moved to stretch out his arms and legs but found that his body was being held down. Lifting the blanket up and peering down at his body he saw an arm thrown around his torso, one that was definitely to large to be his own. Quickly sitting up he threw the arm off of his, causing the body next hi him to let out an annoyed groan. Kenma looked in shock at Kuro, who was practically laying on top of him with how close they were. 

His eyes flashed to the ginger who was standing at the foot of his bed, carrying a tray full of food; he squeaked when Kenma made eye contact with him, and Kenma wanted the ground to swallow him whole. Kenma grabbed a pillow from behind him and hurriedly threw it at Kuro’s head. 

“Ow kitten what the hell?!” Kuro yelled. He lifted the pillow off of his head and stared up at the wild expression on Kenma’s face. “What-“ His eyes flashed to the third person in the room and his eyes widened a fraction. “Hinata? What are you doing here?” His eyes flickered down to th tray in Hinata’s hands. “Is that food? Bring it here.” 

 

“Kuro!” Kenma hissed. 

“What?” Kuro said, taking the tray from Hinata’s outstretched hands. “I’m hungry. We can share can’t we?” 

“That’s-that’s not the point.” Kenma stuttered. 

Kuro took a bight of a freshly baked piece of bread and his eyes lit up. “Hey this is really good, you should try a bite.” He held up a piece in offering to Kenma. 

He ignored him and instead looked toward Hinata. “Shoyou, this is a misunderstanding.” He said exasperatedly. 

Hinata looked at the two in shock, Kuro seemingly the only one not panicking here, and quickly bowed. 

“I’m sorry to interrupt!” He yelled. “Please forgive me for intruding!” 

“No- Shoyou…please you didn’t do anything, there was nothing to interrupt- we were just sleeping I swear!” 

“Hey whats that?” Kuro said with a mouthful of food. Kenma was about to start yelling at him to help him clear up this misunderstanding that he didn’t seem to care about when his eyes fell on the object he was talking about. There was a small wicker basket on the food of his bed, and the top of it was covered with a cream colored cloth. 

“That was in front of the door when I got here.” Hinata said. “Someone must’ve dropped it off.” 

Kenma looked at the basket with interest, not expecting any type of delivery. He pulled the basket toward himself as he crossed his legs together. Kuro sat behind him, curiously looking over his shoulder and munching on more of his bread. Kenma shot him an annoyed glance that he seemed to ignore and moved the cloth out of the way to peer inside. 

He hardly had a chance to blink before something was jumping out at his face and strong hands were pulling him backwards. His head hit the mattress below him but he had no time to even comprehend what had just happened before he was pushed out of the bed and dropped to the floor. 

He stared up at the ceiling for a second, his mind working too fast to really process anything; but he did think he heard yelling, something about moving. 

Oh. Kenya though as his mind finally wrapped around the noise. Kuro’s telling me to move. 

His body went into autopilot and he stood on shaky legs. Suddenly hint was there, gently pulling un him until they both hit the wall behind them. Now that Kenma wasn’t head first into the situation and had a proper look of the room, he could clearly asses the situation. Right now, on his bed was a very big, very long, and very blue snake. The tale end of the thing was still in the basket, at the cloth draping over it slightly and Kenma concluded that this was what had jumped out at him. 

A snake. 

A very large, very long- Oh wait. He had already gone over this. 

The sound of a screech caught his attention again and he looked up in time to see Kuro slicing the neck of the beast, the blood spraying all over his white blankets and Kuro’s body; the black Yukata he was wearing soaked most of it up, but it still sprayed across his face, marring that skin. 

The snake twitched a bit before going completely limp and Kuro there it on the ed in disgust. His breathing was heavy and after only a few seconds his gaze lifted from the corpse to lock onto Kenma’s. He held the eye contact the whole time he walked around the bed and toward Kenma. 

Hinata’s arms were still wrapped around him, but when he saw the intense look on Kuro’s approaching figure he quickly let go and moved off to the side. 

When Kuro was in touching distance he grabbed Kenmas face in both of his hands and tilted his head up. His eyes roamed every part of Kenma that he could see, and when no major injuries were visible he asked. 

“Are you alright?” 

Kenma had never heard a voice like that. One that was so dark, wound so tight with worry it seemed like his vocal cords would snap if he used them at all. Kenma wondered if it was actually directed at him. 

Of course, Kuro’s intense eyes were looking nowhere else but his own, and even though the situation was barley sinking in, Kenma still found it in himself to answer. 

“Yes.” 

Kuro looked for a lie, for any trace of doubt but when he found nothing but started confusion in the golden orbs before him he let out a long sigh of relief. Moving forward he rested his forehead againt Kenma’s, closing his eyes as the tension from before worked out of him at the knowledge that the younger boy before him was alright. 

Kenma watched in fascination as Kuro rested his head against his. Watching his body go from hard and strung out to limp had made Kenma go limp as well; maybe it took Kuro calming down for his own body to accept that it really was alright. 

Kenma was about to close his eyes and take his first deep breath when Kuro’s body went taut again. He pulled of of Kenma and his eyes were light with a barley contained fire as his gaze snapped to Hinata. 

“Why the hell did you bring that in here?!” He yelled. Hinata started shaking at the tone of Kuro’s voice as he stuttered to get an answer out. 

“I-I-I’m sorry! It was just outside the door and I thought it might be important so I just- I brought it in! Hinata's eyes were starting to get wet with tears and he shook more and more with every word he spoke. 

“You almost got him killed! Do you understand that? There was no way this was an accident!” 

“I-I’m sorry Kuro-sama.” Now Hinata really was crying. 

“It’s your job to protect him! This is what you’re trained for! How am I supposed to trust-“ 

“Kuro.” Kenma cut his tirade off with a gently hand to his arm. Kuro’s mouth snapped shut as his head whirled around to meet Kenma’s waiting gaze. 

“It’s not his fault.” Kenma said softly, moving around Kuro hunting he was standing in between Hinata and him. “He didn’t know what was in there. And-“ Kenma continued when he saw Kuro’s mouth open to rebuttal. “And, if this would have been a normal delivery, I would have been angry at him for rifling through my stuff. Please Kuro, i’m fine; i’m not hurt, so please don’t yell at him anymore.” 

Kuro’s mouth had formed a hard frown but when he saw the determination in the smaller males eyes he sighed. Pinching the bridge of his nose he looked toward Hinata. “Get Kenma presentable.” He said, turning briskly toward the door. “Be in the throne room in half an hour.” 

“Y-yes sir.” Hinata squeaked out. He turned toward Kenma and practically dragged him into the dressing room. making quick of of dressing and brushing his hair. 20 minutes later there was a knock at the door and Hinata gave directions to Kenma to stay put; when he came back in, this time followed by Bokuto, Kenma knew that something big was happening. The three of them rushed down the palace corridors, running toward the throne room so as not to be late. They turned down the corridor that led to Kuro’s prvate office and entrance to the throne room; the guards tensed when they rounded the corner but opened the door upon seeing who they were. 

They stepped inside the massive room and Kenma was overwhelmed with the amount of people standing inside. The place was packed to the brim with solders, guards, kitchen workers and palace staff. In the center of the platform they were on sat Kuro in his throne, Akaashi adorning is right side and Lev and Kageyama adorning his left. 

The crowds eyes were trained on them as Bokuto led them toward Kuro, who's heavy gaze was locked onto Kenma. All the attention made Kenma squirm in anxiousness, and he shielded his face with his hair to hide from the heavy stares. They walked toward the throne and Hinata immediately went to Kageyamas side. Kenma heard the darker haired male ask is he was alright, but he didn’t get to hear the hushed answer and he followed Bokuto to the other side of the throne. He was going to stand beside Bokuto, right after Akaashi and be the third farthest from the throne; but Kuro’s hand wrapped around his wrist and dragged him toward the center, planting him right next to the king. 

They all stood there in silence as more people filtered through the main door. Kuro’s hands were tense as they gripped the arm rests of his throne. Kenya thanked a peak at the king and felt his mouth go dry as he did. Kuro’s eyes were hard, herder than he’s ever seen them before; they were cold too, cold and share and filled with such terrifying venom even Kenma couldn’t look at him without wanting to whimper. 

After minutes ticked by Akaashi quietly leaned over and spoke in Kuro’s ear. 

“I believe everyone is here.” 

Akaashi leaned back in his place, leaning slightly on Bokuto and Kenma found himself wishing he could do the same. This Kuro…This was not the stupid teenager he knew. This was not the king who go in trouble for sneaking out of the one who got exited when he got someone to confess a crime, he was not the king who kept sappy romance novels in his desk. 

This Kuro…this Kuro was scary. 

Kuro cleared his throat abruptly and all the idle chatter in the hall fell silent immediately as all eyes turned to stare at him. It was hard to believe this man was only 18 years old when just his presence was enough to shut the mouths of hundreds of people out of fear. Kuro’s eyes flicked toward the doors and moments later they closed, sealing everyone in the stifling and tension filled air. 

“Today our honored guest was attacked.” Kuro said, and though his words weren’t meant to be treating they still cut through the air like a knife. All eyes were focused on him, but they shifted to Kenma when they heard the reason for being here. 

“While I do believe in accidents, I know for a fact this was done on poupose.” Kuro crossed his legs and rested his cheek on his hand. His body may have been portraying nonchalance, but his eyes and voice told what he was truly feeling. 

Fury. 

“This morning, a package arrived at the door of our guest. In it was a snake so venomous, one drop would have killed him.” 

Kenma shivered when he realized just how close to death he’d been only this morning. 

“Luckily, he was saved in due time, and is without injury. But I wonder,” Kuro continued, his voice talking on a tone of such fake curiosity it make Kenma take a step away from him. “Why would anyone want to harm our beloved guest. Hmm?” Kuro looked into the crowd as if he was actually searching for answers. 

Suddenly he laughed, a tight, clipped one that everyone in the room on edge. “It’s also not the first time it happened. Only weeks ago, someone left Nala’s cage unlocked, conveniently when Kenma was alone. He was almost killed then too.” 

A searing smile had stretched his way across Kuro’s face and Kenma could see the look of fright reflected in the audiences eyes. 

“This means that either someone has betrayed me, or our staff is letting someone have free range of our palace. Both pose their own problems, and you an see how this concerns me. If I can’t guarantee protection to our guests, how am I supposed to protect a whole country?” 

Kuro’s face dropped into a scowl and he stood up, walking to the top of the stairs that separated him fro the rest of the people. 

“But I do assure you.” He spoke, voice dripping with venom. “That I will find the person responsible, and when I do, I will be sure to play these little games that they like so much. I just hope they like being the one who is hunted.” 

Kenma’s blood runs cold at the words Kuro speaks, and for the first time since he’s met the man, Kenma is afraid.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for reading! Again sorry for the long wait, I ope this was kind of worth it! Have a great day everyone! 
> 
> ~Ky~

**Author's Note:**

> Yay! Thank you so much for making it all the way to the end of the chapter! I'm new to this whole fan fiction thing, so any criticisms are welcome, shower as I am a crybaby, please be gentle!
> 
> I promise that i'll continue to work hard to create a hopefully enjoyable fic! 
> 
> I'm looking forward to exploring this world of KuroKen with all of you! Once again thank you all for giving this newbies fic a chance, and I should be back soon with a new chapter soon! 
> 
> Thank you all so much lovelies! 
> 
> ~Ky~


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